The South Carolina Republican was once a member of a group looking for a deal on bipartisan climate legislation.
07/13/2026 01:47 PM EDT
When the Senate was seriously considering legislation to cap planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions nearly two decades ago, Lindsey Graham was a supporter.
Graham’s work on climate, energy and conservation is a less-discussed part of the late South Carolina senator’s congressional record and some of it came before acting against climate change became toxic among many Republicans. But it’s one of the reasons environmental advocates are among those commemorating Graham, who died suddenly over the weekend.
In addition to considering cap-and-trade at a critical moment during the early Obama administration, Graham more recently supported putting a price on certain polluting imports.
“Senator Graham understood early that addressing climate change didn’t have to come at the expense of other national priorities. To the contrary, he saw that climate policy could be designed to strengthen American industry, position the U.S. to lead in emerging technologies, and enhance our national security,” said Greg Bertelsen, CEO of the Climate Leadership Council, which advocates for business-friendly policies against climate change.
“His legacy is vast,” said Bertelsen in a statement. “For the climate movement, it is one of pragmatism and finding common ground without sacrificing ideals.”
The group Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, which focuses on mobilizing conservatives on clean energy issues, said Graham was frequently an ally to their cause.
“His advocacy for nuclear energy and innovation, paired with his strong record of support for pragmatic bipartisan energy policies, will be missed in the Senate,” said James Dozier, board chair and founding president of the group.
Graham, who was 71, had served in the Senate since 2003 and was planning to run for reelection this year. He previously served in the House and the South Carolina Legislature.
Graham’s advocacy for climate change policies traces back to 2009. In October of that year — as many Democrats were searching for climate legislation that could get 60 votes to advance in the Senate — Graham and then-Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts teamed up to work on a bill that would include cap and trade with incentives for oil and natural gas production and help for nuclear power, a key industry for South Carolina.
“Our partnership represents a fresh attempt to find consensus that adheres to our core principles and leads to both a climate change solution and energy independence. It begins now, not months from now — with a road to 60 votes in the Senate,” they wrote in a New York Times op-ed titled “Yes We Can (Pass Climate Legislation).”
The House had already passed its American Clean Energy and Security Act, a contentious cap-and-trade bill backed mainly by then-Democratic Reps. Henry Waxman of California and Ed Markey of Massachusetts. But the Senate decided to start anew on its own proposal that could get more support.
Graham and Kerry were later joined by then-independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, forming a trio over the following months to search for consensus. The South Carolina senator was the chief Republican negotiator.
At Lieberman’s funeral in 2024, Graham credited the independent senator for bringing him into the issue. “He’s the most persuasive person on the friggin’ planet. He sold me, hook, line and sinker.”
Graham withdrew from the cap-and-trade negotiations in April 2010, a move Democrats blamed on conservative pressure. Then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada formally declared cap-and-trade talks dead that July, but Graham stayed open to the idea of some climate legislation.
He continued to express support for fighting climate change and was outspoken in his acceptance of the scientific consensus that humans are warming the planet because of greenhouse gas emissions.
Graham sided with Democrats on the issue at times, include when he voted in 2017 to keep President Barack Obama’s methane regulation for oil and gas drilling, and on a 2021 vote to block President Donald Trump’s rule to overturn it.
More recently, Graham pushed for a carbon border adjustment mechanism, which would charge tariffs on certain imported goods based on their carbon intensity compared to domestic competitors. He was a co-sponsor on Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy’s Foreign Pollution Fee Act. Conservatives oppose the move, calling it a slippery slope toward a domestic carbon tax.
“We’re trying to reward American businesses who are doing environmentally sound business practices, and we’re going to hold accountable those countries who do it the cheap and lazy way,” Graham said in 2023, as senators were ironing out details of what became the legislation.
“And I think one of the missing ingredients to the climate change debate is how do you force China and India to play better?” he said. “This is one way to do it.”
Graham joined 20 Senate Republicans and all Democrats in 2022 to ratify the so-called Kigali Amendment to phase down emissions of hydrofluorocarbons, a powerful greenhouse gas. He also supported the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, a 2020 law to regulate the substances domestically.
That all doesn’t mean Graham was a hawk on environmental issues. He often sided with the GOP against regulations and in favor of more fossil fuel production. His lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters is 14 percent.
Still, Graham has also been a leading supporter of the Land and Water Conservation Fund and wildlife legislation. And in 2019, he launched the Roosevelt Conservation Caucus as a GOP club to promote conservation and other environmental priorities.
Senate Energy and Natural Resources ranking member Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said, “Lindsey understood that working to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, making our communities safer, and protecting the natural world shouldn’t be partisan causes.”
And Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), one of the Senate’s most liberal members, said, “We shared a strong interest in defending Ukraine and, to the surprise of many, in climate change.”
South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) is planning to announce Monday afternoon his choice to replace Graham on a temporary basis. The state will hold an Aug. 11 primary to replace him on the ballot in the November election.
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace is considering seeking the seat. She got fifth place last month in the primary to be governor. Mace has stood out in the past as an outspoken opponent of offshore oil and natural gas drilling near South Carolina in the Atlantic Ocean.
Rep. Ralph Norman, another unsuccessful Republican gubernatorial candidate, is also interested. Once an ally to the solar energy industry, he was a leader in the push to quickly end clean energy tax credits in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
The winner of the GOP primary is favored to easily win the November general election against Annie Andrews, a physician and the Democratic nominee, due to the state’s heavily Republican political makeup.
Collin O’Mara, president of the National Wildlife Federation, said of Graham, “He protected ocean wildlife and South Carolina’s low country by opposing offshore drilling, investing in coastal resilience, and curbing methane pollution. Although we didn’t agree on everything, we always appreciated the senator’s open door and his passion for wildlife and wild places.”