PENNSYLVANIA – Last week, Republican State Representative Daryl Metcalfe, a climate change denier who once claimed that CO2 is good for the environment because it helps to grow vegetables, was appointed by the PA House GOP to the state’s Climate Change Advisory Committee.
“It’s outrageous that Harrisburg Republicans think Daryl Metcalfe belongs on this committee,” said Sinceré Harris, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. “Climate change is a grave and serious threat to communities in Pennsylvania. There are numerous serious and qualified individuals in our commonwealth who don’t turn a blind eye to science and common sense — and Daryl Metcalfe is not one of them. His presence on the Climate Advisory Committee is a disservice to every Pennsylvania citizen.”
“Public polling and recent elections prove that a majority of Pennsylvanians want more action from the government to combat climate change and that the majority of younger Republicans want it too,” said Josh McNeil, Executive Director of Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania. “If Mike Turzai thinks he can get elected Governor by ignoring the best interests of Pennsylvania’s children and tying himself to Metcalfe’s outdated brand of willfully ignorant, reactionary climate grandstanding, he’s got a tough lesson coming in 2022.”
Metcalfe, the Chairman of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, has repeatedly held hearings promoting the views of climate change deniers.
Last month, Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale released a report estimating that climate change cost Pennsylvania at least $261 million in 2018 due to increased flooding, landslides, and other environmental damage.
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