WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.) is among more than 50 House Republicans forming the new Conservative Climate Caucus. 

The group held their first news conference Wednesday morning on Capitol Hill. It’s the first official Republican Caucus in Congress focused on climate change.

Leaders say they will introduce legislation and proposals to lower global emissions without sacrificing American jobs. They are also working to convince climate skeptics within their own party.

In April, Thompson, who is the top Republican on the House Agriculture Committee, introduced a series of bills addressing climate change through what he calls “natural solutions.”

“We know the climate changes, that debate is over,” Thompson told Erie News Now in April. “We shouldn’t be wasting time talking about that. We need to talk, what are we going to do about it?”

U.S. Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio), whose district covers Ashtabula County, is also a caucus member.