Weekly Briefing: CCL gives input to USDA for agriculture funds

January 25, 2023

CCL gives input to USDA for agriculture funds

In last year’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Congress included about $20 billion earmarked for natural climate solutions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for deciding how those funds should be allocated to meet the climate goals outlined in the IRA, which include projects that will “reduce, capture, avoid, or sequester carbon dioxide” in American forests and farms.

Eagle-eyed CCL volunteer Matthew Mayers noticed USDA requested public input regarding how to achieve those goals in practice, and CCL staff jumped on the opportunity to provide comments related to our healthy forests policy agenda.

CCL Research Coordinator Dana Nuccitelli chronicled CCL’s contribution to the USDA in his latest blog. Dana explains that, specifically, the IRA funds were directed towards four existing conservation programs — programs that the USDA was interested in learning more about in relation to the IRA. You can read more about what Dana and CCL staffers discovered on natural climate solutions and our recommendations to USDA in the blog below.

READ DANA'S BLOG

In other news this week: 

• Hudson Register Star endorses Energy Innovation Act: A recent editorial in the Hudson (New York) Register Star gave a huge thumbs up to the Energy Innovation Act and a price on carbon. You can like and share the tweet with this good news here.  
• Head of World Trade Organization calls for global carbon price: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), called for a global carbon price last week for economic and political benefits. “A shared global carbon-pricing framework would best provide certainty for businesses and predictability for developing countries,” she said. Like and share the tweet here. 
• CCL’s top 10 blogs of 2022: Last year was huge for climate policy, which means that it was a big year for CCL’s blog. Our top 10 blogs had over 70,000 reads! View our top ten here. 
• Meme of the week: CCLers never give up — and working with a divided Congress is no exception! You can like and share CCL’s meme about our determination here.

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Take action this week  

If you have a little time: Join our Big Tent Climate Talks w/ Rewiring America
Big Tent Climate Talks are engaging conversations that spotlight leaders in the climate community outside of CCL who are doing important work. At CCL, we know solving climate change requires a variety of policies and perspectives. That's why we do this work under a big tent that includes folks from the right, the left, and every spot in between. In this month’s BTCT, hear from Dr. Luis Aguirre-Torres, the Senior Advisor at Rewiring America, about how we can electrify everything and speed the transition away from fossil fuels. Join us!       

If you have more time: Consider presenting to a local organization
As CCL expands our outreach in 2023, one of the most effective ways to inform others about CCL is by giving presentations to local organizations and groups. Take a look at our presentation tools and tips and consider giving a presentation in your community. 

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Featured Lever This Week 

CCL's Chicago chapter hosts "New Year, New Possibilities" chapter-building event

CCL's Chicago chapter held a chapter-building event on Jan. 20 that drew about 30 people, half of whom were new to CCL. The group came together at a Chicago incubator pub with a focus on small-batch and experimental brewing to celebrate their 2022 accomplishments and set the stage for an even greener 2023.

"We wanted to kick off the new year with an in-person event to reconnect with longtime supporters and welcome new ones," said CCL volunteer Caroline Eichler, who organized the event with volunteers Sean Noonan and Ryan Anderson. "Like our hosts, Pilot Project Brewing, we aim to identify small, high-impact projects across our four focus areas that will deliver strong climate policy in Chicago, Illinois, and beyond."

CCL Chicago has already activated local action teams that are hard at work partnering with other organizations to build support for Healthy Forests and Building Electrification and Efficiency.

LIKE AND SHARE THE CHICAGO TWEET

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Upcoming Trainings 

• 1/26: Engaging New and Returning Members of Congress — Meeting in the local district of a member of Congress is an essential element to building connections with Congress. This training walks through the process of planning and setting up a successful meeting with your member of Congress back home in your community. Join us!       

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

• 1/31: CCL's Policy Agenda — Join CCL Research Coordinator Dana Nuccitelli for a training to explore CCL’sarray of policies, including carbon pricing, that are effective in reducing net emissions and building bridges both in Congress and in our communities. Citizens’ Climate’s mission is to create the political will for a livable world, and we won’t stop working until we have a healthy and stable climate. Join us! 

To see other topics and past trainings, visit the Training Topics page of CCL Community.