Glaciers in Antarctica are heading toward a point of no return. California is in the fifth year of its record-breaking drought. Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have reached historic levels. And the Republican Party? They’re plugging their ears and covering their eyes, ignoring the reality of climate change.

That’s bad news for the planet, but it’s also bad news for the GOP. Unfortunately for them, their obliviousness to the realities of global warming might cost them the November presidential election.

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As the GOP gears up for its 2016 national convention in Cleveland, the country is poring over candidates’ positioning on the economy, immigration, women’s rights, and more. But one of the most worrying things about the GOP is its stance on climate change.

Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump Donald John TrumpBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Trump dismisses climate change role in fires, says Newsom needs to manage forest better Jimmy Kimmel hits Trump for rallies while hosting Emmy Awards MORE opines that global warming is “created by and for the Chinese” to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellOcasio-Cortez to voters: Tell McConnell 'he is playing with fire' with Ginsburg's seat McConnell locks down key GOP votes in Supreme Court fight Video shows NYC subway station renamed after Ruth Bader Ginsburg MORE says doesn't know if climate change is a real problem because he's “not a scientist.” And Texas Senator Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzMurkowski: Supreme Court nominee should not be taken up before election Battle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight Sunday shows - Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death dominates MORE calls it a “so-called scientific theory.”

These statements ignore the reality of climate refugees in Louisiana, diesel-induced asthma in Newark, New Jersey, and urban heat islands around the country that are increasing energy consumption, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emission. And they ignore the vast economic potential of addressing climate change head-on.

Republicans may bill themselves as the pro-business party, but their stance on climate change reveals the opposite. This will divert valuable votes in November, because eco-consciousness isn’t a fad. It’s an intrinsic part of the economy and the workforce. And it’s only growing stronger.

In 2011, the United States’ “clean economy” employed over 2.7 million workers, according to a study by the nonpartisan Brookings Institute – more than either the fossil fuel or bioscience industries. During the Great Recession, the clean economy outperformed the nation as a whole. And — crucial to the GOP bid to be what Donald Trump called a “worker’s party” — the clean economy actually offers more opportunities and better pay for low- and middle-skilled workers than the national economy as a whole, the Brookings study found.

Greening buildings specifically has been a significant business driver as well. In the green building sector alone, green construction added $167.4 billion to the U.S. GDP from 2011 to 2014, according to a 2015 Green Building Economic Impact Study, and it has catalyzed significant innovation in materials, products and services to deliver the energy, water and waste efficiencies truly green buildings require. This year, it will employ more than 2.3 million Americans, and by 2018, it is expected to nearly double in size.

Despite Republican hand-wringing, companies aren’t floundering because they’re going green. They’re actually flourishing.

Take IBM and its climate protection policies. Between 1990 and 2014, the technological giant conserved 6.8 million megawatt hours of electricity consumption, avoided 4.2 million metric tons of CO2 emissions, and correspondingly saved $550 million. Consuming less energy meant that IBC spent less money on fuel and electricity—and put those funds to better use elsewhere.

Or take the global consumer brand behemoth Unilever, which launched the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan in 2010 to integrate the practice of sustainability into a number of their brands and products, with a goal of halving the environmental footprint of the making and use of Unilever’s products by 2020. In 2015, Unilever’s sustainable brands grew 30 percent faster than its other products and contributed to half of the company’s total yearly growth.

Yet another example of sustainable practices being good for companies’ bottom lines: in 2015, General Motors made over $1 billion through its recycling and reuse program, which recycled and composted more than two million metric tons of waste materials globally, converted about 144,000 metric tons of waste to energy, and avoided 8.9 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.

Going green is good for everyone: companies’ profit margins, employees’ health, the economy generally, and the future of our planet as a whole.According to polls surveying Republican voters, two of their priority issues are employment and the economy – and sustainable business practices have huge positive effects on both.

Come November, it may be hard for the GOP to paint itself as the pro-business party given its childish insistence on denying global warming in the face of the steady growth of the green economy. According to a recent poll by three prominent Republican polling firms, most GOP voters think humans are contributing to climate change--including 54 percent of self-identified conservative Republicans. Those same voters are the ones who are worried about the economy and their jobs.

Saving our planet isn’t a trite sentiment; it’s an imperative that benefits businesses, employees, the economy, and the future. Voters already know this, and they’ll look for candidates who are ready to do business in the 21st century when it comes to the green economy, not candidates stuck in the 1950s. And if the GOP cares at all about the party’s own sustainability, they would do well to pay attention.

Fedrizzi is CEO and Founding Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council.