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tax won't happen; let's
prove them wrong
The climate advocacy world was all abuzz last week with the revelation from an Exxon lobbyist that the company's support for a carbon tax is a "talking point" largely because they don't believe it is likely to become law. How does this change what we're doing at CCL? Short answer: It doesn't. "We were never counting on Exxon to get a carbon price enacted," said CCL President Madeleine Para. "We're counting on citizens to push Congress to act. It's actually in our name." Hear more of our perspective in articles from HuffPost and the Dallas Morning News. Here at CCL, we strongly challenge Exxon's assumption that a carbon price will never get passed. In fact, we're seeing notable movement on the policy in this session of Congress. Some reasons why:
- The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, the carbon pricing bill introduced by Rep. Ted Deutch, now has 76 cosponsors and is adding cosponsors every week, primarily because of our volunteers' lobbying efforts.
- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse recently introduced a strong new carbon pricing bill in the Senate with seven cosponsors. The Save Our Future Act prices carbon while making major investments in environmental justice communities and offering generous compensation for coal miners.
- In Utah, 25 Republicans, most of them state legislators, recently signed an op-ed in support of carbon fee and dividend.
A strong show of support will increase the chances that a price on carbon will be included in climate legislation this year. Write to your representative and senators and ask them to support a carbon price if they haven't already!
In other news this week: Diversity & Inclusion national gathering: Diversity is one of CCL’s core values, and many of our chapters are working hard to be more inclusive. If you’ve been involved in this work, you’re invited to a special gathering this Friday where you can connect with other D&I volunteers from around the country and share ideas. Details here. Danny Richter featured on podcast: Looking for a good overview of different ways to price carbon? CCL’s VP for Government Affairs, Dr. Danny Richter, was featured on the Climate Now podcast this week to explain the intricacies of a carbon tax, cap and trade, and carbon fee and dividend. Listen to the podcast. Jobs available with CCL: Citizens’ Climate Education is currently hiring for three full time positions: Development Coordinator, Content Marketing Manager, and Government Affairs Coordinator. We are also hiring for two six-month-long contract positions: Indiana Conservative Climate Field Organizer, Utah Conservative Climate Field Organizer. |
