Weekly Briefing: Major Senate Vote Expected Early In 2022; CCL Will Mobilize In January

December 22, 2021

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) released a statement on Sunday indicating that he “cannot move forward” with the Build Back Better Act. Reactions were swift, with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announcing on Monday that the Senate will hold a vote on a revised version of the Build Back Better Act “very early in the new year.” 

So, what do these latest developments mean for CCL? We will continue to push hard to keep climate a central issue in the Build Back Better negotiations and for a carbon price to be included. We will mobilize again in January with a fresh wave of outreach to Congress and the White House.

President Biden has pledged that America will reduce emissions 50% below 2005 levels by 2030. In a statement CCL released on Monday, VP of Government Affairs Dr. Danny Richter said, “Without climate policies like those in the Build Back Better Act and a robust price on carbon, we will fall short of that critical goal. Our lawmakers must continue to try to reach agreement on these policies.” 

Lawmakers and staff are not in their offices over the holidays, but when they return for the new year, CCL staff and volunteers will be there to help push these crucial policies across the finish line.

Read Our Full Statement

In other news this week: 

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- Building resilience for the new year: We’re heading into 2022 with major climate legislation still under negotiation, which may prompt feelings of frustration, sadness, or fear. Jeff Joslin, who leads CCL’s Resilience Building Action Team, invites us all to take a deep breath and regroup as we continue this work. He asks, “Who do I want to bring into my 2022 advocacy? My angry self? My frantic self? Or my best self?” His team is holding several resilience building workshops in January, which you can read about in Jeff’s CCL Community post or find on the Resilience Hub.

- Consider making a donation: There’s a little over one week left to help Citizens’ Climate reach our goal of raising $1.5 million by December 31. We don’t know what 2022 has in store, but we do know one thing: we need to keep the pressure on national and local governments to prioritize climate — and our grassroots advocacy is more critical than ever before. We’re so close to meeting our year-end fundraising goal, but we need your help to finish out the year strong. If you have not already, please consider making a tax-deductible, year-end gift to Citizens’ Climate Education today! Thank you for all that you do to support our grassroots climate advocacy.

- We’ll see you in 2022: This is CCL’s last Weekly Briefing of the year, but we will be back in your inbox the first week of January with news, actions, and training opportunities. Happy holidays!

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Take action this week  

If you have a little time: Share this tweet from Sen. Whitehouse

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) tweeted a blog post by Dana Nuccitelli, one of CCL’s Research Coordinators. Dana’s blog addressed the impact of a carbon price on poverty. “I was hoping to give a Christmas surprise that reduced economic injustice, spurred the economy and opened a safe pathway on climate, but it looks like that will have to wait a bit,” Senator Whitehouse tweeted. You can share that tweet here.

If you have more time: Share business endorsements for a carbon price

CCL recently tweeted a letter, organized by Ceres and signed by over 400 businesses, that urges Congress to enact the Build Back Better Act. See the full list of supportive businesses and spread their letter by sharing our tweet.

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 

Grassroots: CCL’s carbon cashback giveaway

If Congress enacts a carbon fee and dividend policy, every American taxpayer could get $250 per year in “carbon cashbacks” while our emissions drop dramatically. So for the last few weeks, we’ve been running a carbon cashback giveaway contest on our social media accounts. 

Yep, you read that right: We’ve been giving away $250 per week to reach out to the grassroots and help more people understand (and love!) our preferred climate policy.

Check out our last post on Instagram to see how it works, and plan to participate in the grand finale giveaway next week, taking place on CCL’s TikTok.

Follow Us On TikTok

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This week on the CCL blog:  

Volunteer Spotlight: Pauline Banducci: CCL Massachusetts volunteer Pauline Banducci explains the work that she does with the media and on Twitter to advocate for climate action. Read more.

Citizens’ Climate Radio: In this episode, Caroline Roberts uses her skills as a scientist-turned-artist to highlight the importance of climate change and flooding. Listen now.