Weekly Briefing: Growing Climate Solutions Act Introduced With Broad Bipartisan Support 

April 21, 2021

The Growing Climate Solutions Act, a bill supported by CCL, was reintroduced in the Senate this week with broad bipartisan support — 18 Republicans, 16 Democrats and 1 Independent. Lead sponsors of the bill are Senators Mike Braun (R-IN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). 

Ben Pendergrass, CCL Senior Director of Government Affairs, said, “Our volunteers really leaned in on lobbying for this bill, and many of the Republican cosponsors heard a lot from the volunteers about this. We are happy CCL was able to play a role in advancing this positive and pragmatic legislation.”

Sen. Stabenow and Sen. John Boozman (R-AR), the chair and ranking member of the Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, announced they will bring the bill up for a vote in the committee on Thursday.

The legislation would help farmers and foresters access carbon markets so they could be paid for practices that sequester carbon in soils and trees. Agriculture currently accounts for 10 percent of carbon emissions, and this bill is seen as a way to help that sector become part of the climate solution.

Citizens’ Climate Lobby is among the 60 agricultural and environmental organizations that support the bill. If your senator is a cosponsor, we’ve updated the local press release template acknowledging cosponsors of the bill. Chapters can download the template, insert local information and then send the press release to media outlets.

You can also thank your senator on Twitter or share Sen. Braun’s tweet about the bill.

Share Tweet About Bill
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In other news this week:

Thursday is Earth Day: Celebrate by taking climate action like writing a letter to the editor, sending a postcard to President Biden, or sharing on social media about why you volunteer with Citizens’ Climate Lobby. Find suggestions in the April action sheet, which you can download here.

More cosponsors for Energy Innovation Act: Five House members have joined the list of cosponsors for H.R. 2307 since last week: Sara Jacobs (CA-53), Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-00), Robin Kelly (IL-02), and Mike Levin (CA-49). Tweet your appreciation with our online action tool. 

Mark Reynolds op-ed in The Hill: CCL Executive Director Mark Reynolds has a new op-ed in The Hill about the Energy Innovation Act: “For a win on climate, let’s put our best player in the game.” We invite you to read Mark’s piece and share it on social media.     

CCL Catholic Conference May 15: Inspired by Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si,” we’re holding our first Catholic conference, “Call to Action to Care for Our Common Home.” The free virtual conference is open to everyone, especially if your member of Congress is Catholic. Former Republican Congressman Francis Rooney is one of the featured speakers. Register here.

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Take action this week 

As we make the big push to include carbon pricing in climate legislation, Earth Day (Thursday) is a good time to ask your House member to cosponsor the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act or thank them if they are already a cosponsor. You can also ask your senators to support similar legislation in the Senate. Use our online action tool to send an email. 

Media: Rep. Deutch bill creates carbon pricing buzz 

The conversation around carbon pricing got a significant boost earlier this month with the introduction of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. Rep. Ted Deutch, sponsor of the bill, held a press briefing (shown above) that included CCL President Madeleine Para. As a result, stories have popped up in E&E News, The Hill, the Washington Examiner and Politico Pro, which ran a piece with the headline, “Democrats hold firm on including carbon pricing in infrastructure talks.” 

CCL volunteers have also been pulling the media lever and generating letters, op-eds, and other local coverage about the legislation. You can keep the media buzz going by sending a press release to local outlets about the reintroduction of the Energy Innovation Act.

For a rundown on media coverage, check out our latest blog on the CCL website.

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This week on the CCL Blog 

Young voices on climate: For Earth Day, CCL regional fellows shared why they care about climate change and what they have learned working with CCL. Read their moving personal accounts on the Citizens’ Climate Higher Education blog.