How to Avoid A Climate Backlash

The energy transition hangs in the balance, as green policies fuel right-wing politics

- Justin Worland

SIX MONTHS AFTER BEING OUSTED AS THE SUPERVISOR OF Green Charter Township in rural western Michigan, Jim Chapman is sitting at the dining table in his son's house, a haven from the dirty looks and death threats that continue even now. A self-described conservative Republican who was a police officer before entering local politics, Chapman says his downfall was negotiating to bring a $2.4 billion electric-vehicle-battery plant owned by a Chinese company to town, what he calls a once-in-a-generation opportunity to grow the local economy.

The backlash was swift and withering. A Congressman launched an ad campaign ahead of his recall election, criticizing "local officials" for welcoming Gotion, the company building the plant. A recent caller left a voicemail threatening to target Chapman and "exercise my Second Amendment rights." Another said he would call up his local militia. "This Neanderthal response has been the core of the problem," says Chapman.

For a growing number of activists, he was just the start. Eight miles away, in a farm dotted with more than a dozen NO GOTION placards styled like Trump campaign signs, Lori Brock, the farm's owner, is coordinating anti-Gotion activists. Teri and Ormand Hook, local Michiganders, are working to spread their message across the state and country, while other GOP groups have taken the fight statewide with radio ads and slick campaign mailers blasted in local races. The impact could extend from Green Charter Township all the way to the White House. "We win Michigan for Trump, then most likely Trump is President of the United States," says Pete Hoekstra, the chair of the Michigan Republican Party, who is collaborating with local anti-Gotion campaigns. "A big reason for that would be what's happening with China, and what's happening with EVs."