|
stage for push to price
carbon in next Congress
Thousands of CCL volunteers came together last weekend for a virtual conference that sets the stage for a major push to pass carbon-fee-and-dividend legislation in the next Congress. “Our prescription this time is to stack the deck,” said CCL VP for Government Affairs Danny Richter. “Congressman [Ted] Deutch wants 100 cosponsors when he reintroduces [the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act] in the next Congress, and we want to give him that.” Volunteers conducting virtual meetings with congressional offices this week wasted little time in complying with Richter’s request. Following meetings with CCL advocates, Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL), Rep. Sharice Davids (D-KS) and Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) became the latest House members to sign on to Deutch’s bill. With the likelihood of a divided Congress or Democrats holding the slimmest of majorities in the Senate, Richter said CCL’s emphasis on bipartisanship makes the organization “uniquely positioned to make the most of this Congress. Bipartisanship is just going to be necessary to get anything done.” The opening plenary of the conference featured some of CCL’s favorite guest speakers — Shi-Ling Hsu, Hahrie Han and John Wood, Jr. They set the tone for the conference, telling volunteers that progress on climate change will require advocates to be “urgently patient” to bring people together and enact solutions that endure. Dr. Natasha DeJarnett, who becomes the chair of Citizens’ Climate Education’s governing board in January, closed out the Saturday conference with a reflection on 2020. “I hope you see how resilient we are. One thing we’re especially good at is supporting each other. We’re in some new challenging situations, but with support from this community, we kept going.” The conference was attended by at least 3,725 participants on Zoom with an additional 1,285 viewers watching via live stream on social media platforms. Attendees joined from all 50 states and the District of Columbia as well as 27 other countries around the world. Couldn’t attend last weekend? Recordings and presentations from all sessions, including three of the Sunday seminars, are now available on CCL Community. In a press release issued today, CCL Executive Director Mark Reynolds said, “There’s a window of opportunity next year to pass effective climate legislation, but it won’t happen unless citizens roll up their sleeves and do the hard work bringing Republicans and Democrats together on solutions. Our folks are up for that task.”
Other news this week: Share our fundraising video: CCL’s year-end appeal got off to a great start last week, as we exceeded our goal for Giving Tuesday. Help us meet our Dec. 31 target of $1 million by sharing this upbeat video on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. New on CCL staff: We’ve made some great additions to the CCL staff recently. Alexis Hermosillo has come on board to manage state-level carbon pricing efforts. Kyle Kammien is doing business outreach, and Jacob Rodriguez will beef up our digital marketing. Our team is getting bigger and stronger! Braver Angels: The seminar this past Sunday from Braver Angels — “Bridging the Divide on Climate Solutions” — was filled to capacity. If you missed out, there’s another training coming up in January. Details available in this CCL Community bulletin post. CCL launches chapter in Morocco: Jacques Kenjio, CCL's coordinator of Francophone Africa leaders, recently launched our first chapter in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. The chapter members are from all across Morocco, and the group leaders are Saida El Jadid and Mohamed Elkhouaja. You can see a photo and get connected to some of our Francophone members on Twitter. |
