Climate Power, an environmental group that operates under funding tied to a Swiss billionaire, launched a six-figure ad campaign Wednesday to coincide with the first GOP presidential debate.
The organization will run ads on Fox News before and after Wednesday night’s debate, which will occur in Milwaukee from 9-11 p.m. Eastern time. The 30-second spots will continue airing nationally through the week.
The advocacy group said its goal is to expose Republicans’ ties to the fossil fuel industry and “remind Wisconsinites that the GOP candidates have no plan to address climate-fueled extreme weather devastating the country.”
“They love visiting farms for photo ops, the Republicans. Throw on blue jeans, stand next to a tractor,” the ad says. “Climate change is crushing our farmers, and they won’t do a damn thing about it because that would mean taking on the oil industry. They’ll stand up for photo ops, but will they ever stand up to Big Oil?”
Climate Power, which once had advisory board members like top Biden climate official John Podesta, Democratic activist Stacey Abrams and former Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, is operated under the guise of Fund for a Better Future, a nonprofit bankrolled by Swiss health care billionaire Hansjorg Wyss’ foundation.
“MAGA Republicans have no plan to deal with the climate crisis. Instead, they are trying to roll back the clean energy plan that is creating good-paying jobs and reducing climate pollution,” Climate Power Executive Director Lori Lodes said. “Voters want to elect someone who will take climate change seriously — and that doesn’t include a single GOP presidential candidate, on or off the stage.”
The group’s ad campaign also includes 20 digital billboards around Fiserv Forum where the debate is being held. Among the three billboard variations, one poses the question: “Does the GOP have a climate plan to keep our beer ice cold?”
Vivek Ramaswamy, the businessman polling so well he’ll be at center stage with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the debate, has called the climate movement a scam.
Meanwhile, rival pro-fossil fuel group Power the Future laid out four questions it said are key to Wednesday night’s debate, including whether the candidates will commit to an investigation into foreign funding of U.S. environmental groups.
The other questions include what level of priority candidates would give to climate change; whether they support producing and exporting liquified natural gas to foreign allies amid Russia’s war against Ukraine; and if they support more domestic critical mineral mining needed for electric vehicles to weaken China’s market dominance.
Power the Future accused Mr. Biden and his administration of having “declared war on domestic energy production” with his clean energy agenda.
“Voters are looking for answers to key questions that will inform them how the candidates plan to bring the country out of a failed economy,” the group said.
