Young Conservative Fellow making strides towards climate solution

By Ankita Arora, North Denver Chapter

Nate Hochman is a senior at Colorado College, a Young Voices associate contributor, and a former editorial intern at National Review and The Dispatch. Amongst his great credentials, he is also a Conservative Fellow with Citizens’ Climate Lobby. Nate considers himself a conservative who is environmentally minded and concerned about climate change.

In his article in the September 2020 edition of the National Review,  “Toward a conservative environmentalism,” Nate quotes Quill Robinson, the government-affairs director of the American Conservation Coalition: “We need more human contact and people coming together around shared interests, and I think environmental stewardship is a very healthy medium for that.” This is also what brought Nate to CCL, which provided him with the space that appreciated his conservative values while advocating for a carbon tax.

As a Conservative Fellow, Nate seeks to reach out to more conservative communities who are generally left out of the conversations about climate policy in an effort to explain to them how climate change is in line with their values. What this requires is a two-pronged approach: first calling for a politically inclusive bipartisan climate movement, and secondly, convincing groups who are against climate change to step up and join hands.

Another aspect of being a Conservative Fellow is political commentary and advocacy - which entails writing a lot of op-eds, and being interviewed on podcasts, radio and television. Nate says, “My experience as an intern at the National Review was instrumental in preparing me for this role, taught me how to write eloquently, how to pitch and work with the editors. But most importantly, it made me comfortable to understand and speak the language of conservatism while advocating for climate solutions.”

Nate’s advice for people interested in having a dialogue with the conservative communities is to engage with media across the political spectrum, actively listen to conservative voices through podcasts, and fill in the blindspots by learning the narratives on both sides of the aisle. A few examples of podcasts include Commentary magazine, American Mind, National Review and Acton Institute (Here’s the link to one where Nate talks about conservative environmentalism).

According to Nate, it’s important to expand your outreach to the conservative part of the country to ensure a comprehensive and durable climate solution. “You know you’re making a change when conservatives are receptive to your message regarding the importance of environmentalism and carbon tax as a market-based solution,” says Nate. 

In order to find a bipartisan climate solution that is sustainable and passes through Congress rather than executive orders that get repealed, CCL needs more Conservative Fellows like Nate.

Take Action:
If you want to get more involved check out the Communicating with Conservatives Core Training or join the CCL National Conservative Caucus Action Team and/or the Colorado Conservative Caucus Action Team.