Dear Friends,

Happy New Year! I hope you and your families had a relaxing and renewing holiday season. We in the CRES office returned refreshed and ready to dive into an exciting year ahead.

To kickstart 2022, I’m delighted to announce my promotion from CRES Executive Director to CRES President. This promotion is an opportunity for me to continue my work in leading CRES’ advocacy for conservative climate solutions. I’m excited for the journey this year will take us on!

In addition, I am pleased to welcome CRES’ newest team member Christine (Chrissy) Harbin as Vice President of External Affairs. In this role, Chrissy will lead our public affairs initiatives. Her years of experience on and off the Hill in the energy sphere will be invaluable to CRES’ mission and we are delighted to have her.

Expanding the CRES team is an exciting endeavor as we have much to build on from what was a landmark year for Republican engagement on climate issues. In review of 2021, I published an op-ed with RealClearEnergy calling out President Biden for a climate agenda that did more harm than good in his first year as president.

“When it comes to big challenges, we must think big. But we also have to be smart. America’s ‘all of the above’ energy strategy was smart. It made us the world’s leader in cutting carbon emissions. The Democrat’s return to ‘all or nothing’ politics continues to fail,” I stated in my op-ed. “Biden’s energy agenda has wounded our country, squandered the good faith of the American people, and bizarrely, increased global emissions in the name of climate change.”

As we embark on a new year, it’s time for Democrats to reach across the aisle and work with Republicans to create common sense climate policy. This single party leadership on climate isn’t working and hasn’t worked for a long time.

As CRES hits the ground running this year, I do hope you will join us. You can catch me this Thursday for a virtual discussion (live streamed on YouTube) presented by the Congressional Western Caucus and House Natural Resources Republicans on climate and the national security implications of a domestic critical mineral mining and production supply chain. More details below!

Best wishes to you for a great start to the year!

My best,

Heather Reams
CRES President

Republican Governors Association visits Washington D.C.— This month, the Republican Governor’s Association will hold a meeting of its members in Washington D.C. Over half of the nation’s governors signed proclamations declaring the week of September 20-24, 2021 as National Clean Energy Week in their states. It's too soon to tell how much of the governor's conversation will cover climate and clean energy— or whether or not COVID-19 will scuttle plans for it to move forward in person, but nevertheless we are looking forward to seeing what comes from this meeting of leaders from America's GOP states. 

“​​We know what works: Diversify resources, invest in research and development, and commercialize and export innovation. To engender public trust by celebrating incremental progress while keeping energy reliable and affordable. Reduce emissions but not energy choices.”

—Heather Reams on conservative climate solutions in her latest op-ed in RealClearEnergy
 

“As more of the world understands that it’s time to address our climate challenges, I’m thrilled to join the team at CRES because they are leading the charge in advancing constructive conservative solutions. Climate change and energy innovation are critical to maintaining our planet’s future and America’s leadership position. CRES is one of the few groups that takes both charges seriously.”     

—Chrissy Harbin in the press release announcing her hire to the CRES team


“While it was a difficult decision to leave the House Select Committee, I look forward to new challenges ahead. CRES Forum is an outstanding organization and a major force on energy and climate policy.  Working with CRES Forum to advance a practical and solutions-oriented agenda is a tremendous opportunity.  As much as will I miss public service, in particular working for Ranking Member Garret Graves, I am honored to be a part of the CRES effort.”

— Marty Hall, CRES Forum Senior Policy Fellow in the press release announcing his hire to the team

“Congress should harness the power of free markets—by encouraging transparency and accountability— and empower companies to achieve their self-set goals, not pursue heavy-handed, top-down mandates that drive up costs or reduce options.”
 
—Charles Hernick testifying to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, quoted in the CRES’ 2021 Spring Recap blog post.

Heather Reams to participate in Western Caucus panel— On Thursday, January 13 at 10:00AM ET, Heather will participate in a panel “Minnesota Mining and American Potential: An Opportunity for a Brighter and More Secure Future” hosted by the Congressional Western Caucus and the House Natural Resources Republicans on the economic and national security benefits of mineral development in northern Minnesota. Tune into the panel on YouTube here.
 

CRES Forum Hires Senior Policy Fellow— In addition to welcoming Chrissy Harbin to the CRES team, CRES today announced the hire of Marty Hall, former Republican Staff Director for the U.S. House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, as a Senior Policy Fellow. This is the second fellowship awarded since the program's creation in 2021. 

“CRES Forum is glad to have Marty join as a Senior Policy Fellow,” said Heather Reams. “Marty brings with him vast experience in energy issues with service in both the House and Senate, the George W. Bush Administration and the private sector. His expertise will be invaluable to CRES Forum as we develop opportunities to educate policymakers and the public on durable clean energy solutions that reflect true conservative principles.”
 

Recapping 2021— 2021 was a whirlwind of a year for Republicans engaging in climate change! To review the year in detail, our Communications team produced four blog posts recapping each season of the busy year. You can read all of the blog posts here.
 

We’re Hiring!— CRES Forum is seeking an experienced conservative policy professional based in Washington, DC to serve as the Director of Climate Policy. The ideal candidate will have at least eight years of experience analyzing energy and environmental policy as well as developing policies with a goal of reducing emissions. This position will report to the Vice President of Policy and Advocacy and will work cross functionally to support the CRES/ CRES Forum mission. Please send resumes and cover letters to [email protected] and share this position through your networks!

Climate Change: ‘All or Nothing’ Is a Dead End. ‘All of the Above’ Works. | RealClearEnergy

CRES Promotes Heather Reams to President, Hires Former U.S. DOE Senior Aide to lead External Relations Team - Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions (cresenergy.com)

Don’t Look Left: Hollywood’s Climate Satirists Need a Broader Coalition (c3newsmag.com)

A Letter to House Republicans from Leader McCarthy about 2022 - House Republican Leader
 

DOE Establishes New Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law | Department of Energy
 

Climate assistance, farm bill prep on Congress’ 2022 agenda | 2022-01-04 | Agri-Pulse Communications, Inc.