American Conservation Coalition
 | A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject. (November 2020) |
 | |
| Established | July 26, 2017[1] |
|---|---|
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C., US |
Region served | United States |
Key people | Benji Backer (Founder)
Danielle Franz (CEO) Christopher Barnard (President) Stephen Perkins (COO) |
| Website | acc |
The American Conservation Coalition (ACC) is a 501(c)(3) environmental conservative nonprofit founded in 2017.[2][3]
History
[edit]ACC was founded in Appleton, Wisconsin, in 2017 by a group of young conservatives with the goal of adding conservative voices to environmental conversations.
ACC's founder was Benji Backer, who stepped down down as president of the organization, transitioning into a chairmanship role in 2023.[4][5][6] Danielle Franz is the current CEO of the ACC. Other key figures include Chris Barnard as president and Stephen Perkins as COO.[7][5]
In 2021, ACC had 5,000 members.[8] ACC claimed to have 60,000 members in 2024 and 100,000 members in 2025.[3]
ACC maintains links with senior members of the second Trump administration such as Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Administrator of the EPA Lee Zeldin.[8] In 2024, it sponsored the Republican National Convention.[9][8] It also hosted climate town halls with candidates in the 2024 Republican Party presidential primaries.[10]
ACC has a political action committee, known as ACC Action.[10]
Activities and positions
[edit]ACC supports environmental policies based on conservative principles.[8] ACC advocates for conservation and free-market environmental policies. ACC supports the development and deployment of nuclear energy, renewable energy, biomass, geothermal energy, hydroelectric power; the ACC also supports the use of natural gas as a relatively low-carbon fuel during a transition phase away from higher carbon sources.[11] In 2022, ACC released The Climate Commitment.[12][non-primary source needed] ACC supports the building of data centers on brownfield and Superfund sites and companies cleaning and redeveloping the land in exchange.[13]
References
[edit]- ↑ https://www.bullypulpit.eco/p/acc-nine
- ↑ Meet the Republicans devoted to fighting climate change - CNN Video, March 6, 2020, retrieved May 5, 2020
- 1 2 "ACC Reaches 100,000 Grassroots Members in 2025". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved August 31, 2026.
- ↑ "Meet the 21-year-old conservative spreading a message about climate change". TODAY.com. Retrieved May 5, 2020.
- 1 2 "American Conservation Coalition (ACC)". www.influencewatch.org. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
- ↑ "American Conservation Coalition". Forbes. Retrieved June 7, 2022.
- ↑ Benji Backer [@BenjiBacker] (June 1, 2023). "After pouring my heart and soul into this movement for seven years, I am stepping back as President of @ACC_National — and beginning a transition into my new role as Executive Chairman" (Tweet). Retrieved June 30, 2023 – via Twitter.
- 1 2 3 4 Yoder, Kate (January 17, 2025). "Young conservatives want to push Trump on climate change — the 'America First' way". Grist. Retrieved August 31, 2026.
- ↑ X; i; m; e; n; a; B; u; s (July 19, 2024). "Climate hasn't been core to the GOP. These conservatives are trying to change that". NPR. Retrieved August 31, 2026.
- 1 2 Cama, Timothy (February 28, 2025). "Green group looks to use its clout with Republicans". E&E News by POLITICO. Retrieved August 31, 2026.
- ↑ "Platform". ACC. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ↑ Backer, Benji (April 6, 2023). "Appleton native outlines 6 steps Wisconsin can take for climate action". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved June 30, 2023.
- ↑ Barnard, Chris (August 27, 2026). "Opinion | Where should data centers be located? Here's a match made in heaven". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved August 31, 2026.
External links
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