Amid major carbon price buzz, register for CCL’s November conference
The prospects for passing a carbon price this year continue to grow, thanks in large part to the advocacy of CCL volunteers. A major story appeared in the New York Times on Friday, where Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, “confirmed that the Senate majority leader had asked him to craft legislation that would put a price on carbon emissions [...] with some kind of rebate or ‘carbon dividend.’” The New York Times article also quoted CCL’s Steve Valk about our grassroots lobbying efforts: “I can tell you that our volunteers have placed 1,444 calls and emails to Arizona Senate and House offices in the last few months.” Since July, CCL volunteers have generated more than 65,000 messages asking senators, House members, and the President to support a price on carbon. CCL Senior Director of Government Affairs Ben Pendergrass credits that effort as one of the reasons the Senate Finance Committee is now taking a carbon fee so seriously: “Our folks delivered the right message to the right people at the perfect time.” Progress to enact a price on carbon is happening because of the persistent work we’ve done throughout the year. What a great time for our community to come together for our November virtual conference! Registration for the conference — Nov. 13-14 — is free and now open. Our theme is “Grit & Gratitude,” and the conference provides an opportunity to celebrate this year’s accomplishments and prepare for what’s next. Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, co-founder of the climate initiative The All We Can Save Project, and co-creator of the podcast How to Save a Planet.
In other news this week: Another cosponsor for H.R. 2307: Rep. Karen Bass (CA-37), former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, has become the 84th cosponsor of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. She joins a flurry of House members who recently signed on to the carbon pricing bill: Representatives James Langevin (RI-02), Brenda Lawrence (MI-14), and Pramila Jayapal (WA-07). Dr. Hayhoe on Jimmy Kimmel: The topic of climate change was all over late-night TV last Wednesday, and CCL Advisory Board member Dr. Katharine Hayhoe was on Jimmy Kimmel Live talking about our changing climate. Watch the segment on Twitter. Infrastructure vote set for House: A vote is scheduled Thursday in the House for the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill. The House continues to work on a separate $3.5 trillion budget bill. Both bills and the politics involved in finalizing them are making a splash in the media, so check out our “LTE Topics” resource for guidance on writing letters about this news. Yale survey on climate change: The Yale Program on Climate Change Communication released its latest survey, which found the percentage of Americans who are worried about climate change is at an all-time high: 70%. And for the first time, a majority of Americans, 55%, say that people in the U.S. are being harmed right now by global warming. |
