GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham says he doesn't 'want to be lectured' on what lawmakers should do to 'destroy' the US economy over climate change

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

• Sen. Graham earlier this week told the NYT he had no interest in being "lectured" on climate change.
• "The Democratic Party has made climate change a religion and their solutions are draconian," he said.
• The comments came as a Democratic-led climate bill fell apart due to concerns from Sen. Joe Manchin.

As heat waves enveloped much of the United States and Europe this week — pushing temperatures well above 85 degrees and setting off a string of heat advisories — Democratic politicians and climate activists are growing increasingly frustrated by GOP indifference and legislative inaction. 

Many Democratic Party members are also growing particularly exasperated by West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin's rejection, at least for the time being, of a narrow climate bill that was being crafted behind the scenes by his party's leaders.

But the continued pleas for bold climate action aren't fazing the ideological approach of many GOP lawmakers, including Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, according to The New York Times.

"I don't want to be lectured about what we need to do to destroy our economy in the name of climate change," he told the newspaper.

While many Republicans in the past outwardly dismissed the notion of climate change, several have recently conceded that some industries have contributed to the production of greenhouse gases causing higher temperatures.

But that hasn't particularly led to Republicans playing a major role in working with Democrats on climate legislation. 

Most Republicans have continued to push for more domestic drilling in the face of higher gasoline prices, despite the Biden administration seeking to shift to wind and other low-carbon energy sources, as well as the production of more electric vehicles.

"The Democratic Party has made climate change a religion and their solutions are draconian," Graham told The Times, despite his past support for legislation that would reduce carbon emissions.

Graham has not been supportive of President Biden's desire to cut emissions in half by 2030, arguing that countries including China and India would need to work toward the same goal before the United States should commit to bring down its level of pollution by such an amount.

"The point to me is to get the world to participate, not just us," the senator said.