A new Congress, a new president and new
opportunity on climate
With today’s inauguration of President Joe Biden, America now officially has a new federal administration. A new Congress has also been sworn in this month. As CCL’s VP for Government Affairs Danny Richter put it in his latest video, we begin 2021 with “a precariously balanced Congress, and a wildly unsettled politics.” Yes, there are things President Biden can do on climate change without Congress, but as we’ve learned these past four years, executive actions can be easily undone by the next president. For that reason, solutions must be legislated in order to stand up over time. And with a closely divided Congress, a bipartisan approach will be essential in passing legislation. Danny emphasizes that groups can organize Zoom coworking parties to strategize and take actions to bring their members of Congress onboard with our preferred climate policy, carbon fee and dividend. Looking ahead, we should start making plans now for our virtual lobby week, March 22-26. While this might seem soon in the wake of our December lobbying, things could move quickly with a new Congress and administration, so we’ll want to line up support early to take advantage of opportunities that might arise. “Despite the uncertainty, there is a lot of hope for big action on climate this Congress,” said Danny.
In other news this week: Global action on climate: The stage is being set for a global upgrade of climate action in 2021. Learn what Citizens’ Climate International members from around the world are doing on Jan. 27. Register here. Indigenous voices: Last week, the Listening to Indigenous Voices Action Team launched a monthly series to present Indigenous perspectives on topics that range from the Medicine Wheel to Native basketball. Watch the first presentation and join the Indigenous Voices Action Team to be notified about upcoming presentations each month. Reach out to teachers: January is a good time of the year to ask educators to incorporate climate advocacy into their courses and introduce climate resources to their students. For tips on who to reach out to, as well as outreach templates, visit this page of CCL Community. |
