Kasich to push Republicans for policies to address climate change

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) is reportedly planning to urge Republicans to stop denying climate change and take action on the environment.

The former Republican presidential candidate will call on conservatives to address global warming in a speech on Tuesday night, according to Axios.

“This is like a call to arms. Let’s have conservatives have a discussion instead of being in denial that this is a problem,” Kasich told news outlet in an interview. “You can’t just be a science denier.”

In his speech at the University of British Columbia, Kasich plans to introduce proposals for a “centrist” climate policy.

{mosads}He told Axios that he opposes the “Green New Deal,” a climate change policy backed by progressives, but said that it’s “not enough” to oppose it without introducing a counterproposal.

His proposals include subsidies for electric vehicles and other eco-friendly technologies and a price for carbon dioxide emissions, according to the news outlet.

Kasich, who has not yet announced whether he will challenge President Trump in 2020, told Axios that his views on humans’ impact on the environment have “evolved” since the 2016 campaign, when he said: “We don’t want to destroy people’s job, based on some theory that is not proven.”

“As I see more and more evidence, especially from our government and scientists, you learn more,” he told Axios. “Let’s step it up.”

Kasich has been at the forefront of urging change in the Republican Party. Last month, he criticized the GOP in an op-ed, saying that it “seems stuck in the 1950s.”