Energy Chair Joe Barton (R-TX): "Greenhouse Gases are Good, because Greenhouses Help Things Grow."

[xocet]

17. Actually, Fred Upton is the current chairman of that committee...not that his position is better....

Here is the link to the committee's website:

Energy & Commerce Committee
United States House of Representatives
Chairman Fred Upton

http://energycommerce.house.gov/

Here is an elucidation of Upton's position vis-a-vis climate change as of his ascension to the chairmanship:

Fred Upton's Climate Changeup
By Kate Sheppard | Tue Jan. 4, 2011 3:00 AM PST

Does Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) have something to hide when it comes to his position on climate change?

In the past, Upton—the incoming chair of the House energy and commerce committee—has advocated taking action on global warming. "I strongly believe that everything must be on the table as we seek to reduce carbon emissions," he once stated on his website. But that statement recently vanished from his site—along with, it seems, his concern about global warming. Following a tea party-aided Republican takeover of the House and a heated fight for the chairmanship of the powerful committee, Upton's position on climate change has veered closer to those of his global-warming-denying caucus-mates. And he's now vowing to use his new role to thwart efforts to cut emissions.

Late last week, Upton coauthored a Wall Street Journal op-ed with Tim Phillips, the president of Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group that has opposed action on climate change. In it, the pair wrote that a new EPA regulation to curb greenhouse gas emissions, which took effect on Sunday, "presumes that carbon is a problem in need of regulation. We are not convinced." They also decried the carbon rules as "an unconstitutional power grab that will kill millions of jobs."

Phillips' position is not suprising (sic: surprising). Denying climate change is an institutional priority for AFP, which has received millions from fossil fuel interests, including $5 million from the philanthropic arm of the oil and gas giant Koch Industries. AFP has even coordinated a climate change-denying "Hot Air Tour," which made a stop in Cancun last month during the UN climate summit there.

...

http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2011/01/fred-upton-global-warming

Here is a section in which Barton is identified as the "chairman emeritus":

Carol Browner: ‘Stunning’ Climate Denial In The House Prevents Any Action On Climate In Washington

...

Barton is the chairman emeritus of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and sits on the Environment and the Economy subcommittee.

...

http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/12/06/1292171/carol-browner-stunning-climate-denial-in-the-house-prevents-any-action-on-climate-in-washington/?mobile=nc

The GOP will likely not respond to climate change until they themselves cannot avoid its deleterious effects or until their corporate benefactors think that they can make a sufficiently large profit by addressing it.