Weekly Briefing: Big News - Senate Finance Committee Considers a Carbon Price  

September 8, 2021

On Friday, news broke that the Senate Finance Committee is actively considering a price on carbon as part of the budget reconciliation package. Senators are discussing a carbon fee that would start at $15 per ton, escalating over time, and be paired with rebates to households and a border carbon adjustment. Sound familiar?

“This is a really big moment for us and for our advocacy,” says CCL VP of Government Affairs Danny Richter in a new update video.

A carbon price was not in the Democrats’ outline of their budget plans earlier this summer. “And now, after you and your networks made 54,000 calls and emails to the Senate, it is being given serious consideration by the Senate Finance Committee,” Danny says.

Now, we must keep up the pressure so that a carbon fee and a dividend are added to the reconciliation package and stay in the package until it’s voted into law. 

Starting this week, we will be contacting President Biden and continuing to urge Democratic Senators to support this policy. Will you send a message in this critical moment?

Write to the President

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In other news this week: 

• CCL Executive Director Mark Reynolds published an op-ed in The Hill today, praising the Senate for considering carbon pricing. “It signals that our elected leaders in Congress are rising to meet this moment," Mark writes. 
   
• Dr. James Hansen is a CCL Advisory Board member and former NASA scientist who famously warned Congress about climate change in 1988. This week, he and CCL volunteer Jonathan Marshall co-authored an op-ed in the Boston Globe, saying, “Carbon fees and dividends should be a central part of any climate policy in the upcoming reconciliation bill.”
   
• Want to explain the concept of carbon pricing in a simple, quick way? Watch and share this new animated video! It explains carbon fee and dividend in less than two minutes.

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Take action this week  

If you have a little time: Spread the good news that the Senate Finance Committee is seriously considering a carbon price! CCL posted about the news on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. You can share CCL’s posts or create your own.

If you have more time: Join our next
national meeting, taking place online this Saturday. Our guest speaker will be the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s Aaron Cosbey, who is an expert on carbon border adjustments. The call will be September 11 at 10 a.m. PT / 1 p.m. ET. You can join from your computer or phone. Learn more and add to your own calendar.

You can also connect with your nearest CCL chapter to take action in your community, or join one of CCL’s national online Action Teams to take action on specific topics like agriculture, health, faith, and more.

Browse CCL Community’s Event Calendar to find upcoming events, trainings, and calls you can join.

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Featured Lever This Week 

Media: CCLers praise carbon pricing discussion

CCL volunteers are flooding local newspapers with letters and op-eds praising the carbon pricing discussion happening in the Senate and urging their Senators to support the policy. 

Jon Clark, CCL’s Appalachia Regional Coordinator, published an op-ed in the York Dispatch. “President Biden has named a goal of 50% emissions reductions by 2030, but so far, modeling shows the proposed policies only get to about 45% emissions reductions,” Jon writes. “Adding a robust price on carbon to the package would ensure that America meets the targets to prevent the worst impacts of global warming.” 

Edward Wolner in Ohio published a letter in the Cleveland Plain Dealer highlighting the benefits of carbon pricing and mentioning his Senator, Sherrod Brown, by name. 

Have you written a letter in your local newspaper to urge your Senator to support carbon pricing? Check out our “LTE Topics” resource for guidance on how to write your own letter.

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Upcoming Trainings 

9/9: Getting New Volunteers Engaged - We're having a surge of new volunteers join CCL! Attend this training to learn the best ways to get new folks engaged and empowered. Join us!

9/16: Budget Reconciliation Q&A - CCL Strategy Director Tony Sirna hosts a live Q&A session about the Senate budget reconciliation process and where things stand with carbon pricing. Join us!

Need training on the basics? Catch our next session of Core Volunteer Training, made for newer volunteers:

9/14: Communicating with Conservatives - Join Nate Abercrombie, CCL's Conservative Outreach Coordinator, for a training on communicating with conservatives about climate change and climate solutions, including how CCL’s preferred policy aligns with conservative values. RSVP here.

To see other topics and past trainings, visit the Training Topics page of CCL Community. 
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This week on the CCL blog:  

Citizens’ Climate Radio: On this month’s podcast episode, playwright Chantal Bilodeau tells us about a worldwide series of short climate change plays. Plus, CCL volunteer Tom Moyer stops by to discuss how 25 Utah Republicans came to endorse carbon fee and dividend. Read more and listen to the episode.