SALT LAKE CITY — Senator John Curtis knows the reactions he gets when he hosts his annual "Conservative Climate Summit."
"Some of them come, they fold their arms like that and they’re very suspicious," he said Friday. "Then by the end of the day, they’re ‘Oh I get it.’ They realize it’s been a mistake for Republicans to not be engaged. Because we do, we care deeply about the Earth. We tend to talk about it differently."
Sen. Curtis has earned a reputation as one of the few Republican political leaders to talk about climate change. He brings together people from all sides at the Conservative Climate Summit to talk about environmental issues and try to find solutions.
On Friday at the University of Utah, there were discussions about water demands, renewable energy sources, land issues and nuclear power. People wore green hats that declared "Make America Beautiful Again." Sen. Curtis touted bipartisan legislation on forest management and wildfire mitigation making its way through Congress. Speaking to reporters, the senator emphasized his support for an "all of the above" approach to energy.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright endorsed Utah's nuclear power ambitions during a discussion with the senator (Wright appeared virtually because of the ongoing U.S. government shutdown).
"Nuclear’s going to become sexy again," Wright declared to a packed ballroom. "I’m also super excited about next-generation geothermal. And frankly, Utah is the leader in that."
Utah moves to create special office to handle nuclear power:
But not all topics bring everyone together. Wright endorsed extending the life of some coal plants, arguing that America's energy demands call for it. Some environmentalists in the room were less-than-thrilled.
"What’s not sexy is the increasing costs from the nuclear industry," Carmen Val Dez with the Healthy Environmental Alliance of Utah told FOX 13 News. "From building plants that increase over time, the long timelines it’s going to take to these plants on board, which may not meet our energy needs or climate needs, frankly. As well as not really addressing or acknowledging the harms the nuclear industry has had on Utah."
Val Dez said she did like what Sen. Curtis was trying to accomplish with the Conservative Climate Summit.
"Climate doesn’t impact just one party or the other," she said.
Eliza Cowie with Stewardship Utah said she has appreciated Sen. Curtis' efforts to try to extend renewable energy credits. She said the summit was also important in educating people.
"I think it is an important step in a larger process of addressing our climate solutions," she said.
Asked about the Trump administration's rollback of some renewable energy projects, Sen. Curtis told reporters: "I have concerns. I’m not familiar project by project enough to know all the particulars, but I’ll come back to this — we need every electron we can get."
