Weekly Briefing: 5,000 Messages To PROVE Our Love Of CBAMs
July 12, 2023
“In a rare example of a bipartisan climate policy, momentum is growing on Capitol Hill for a plan to tax imports from China and other countries with looser environmental standards,” the Washington Post reported recently. The piece is describing the PROVE IT Act, a bill that lays important groundwork for the U.S. to eventually have a carbon border adjustment mechanism, or CBAM.
The PROVE IT Act currently has support from four Democratic senators, four Republican senators, and one Independent senator. Let’s build on that momentum! With persistent, respectful citizen lobbying — our claim to fame — we can encourage more senators to cosponsor the legislation, and we can build support for a House version of the bill to be introduced. All of that means it’s more likely to be passed, bringing us closer to major climate policy that drives down carbon emissions around the globe.
We’ve set a goal of 5,000 messages to Congress about the PROVE IT Act. The action launched yesterday, and so far CCLers have sent 3,809 messages. If you haven’t sent yours yet, hop to it! Our online action tool makes it easy to look up your representative and senators and send them a customizable message.
In other news this week
• Ping pong and potlucks: This blog post shares the stories of three creative ways CCL volunteers have connected with their members of Congress in their local communities.
• Climate Camp retreat offered this fall: This October 13-15, Citizens’ Climate Lobby is sponsoring "Climate Camp" at Camp Cedar Ridge in Vernonia, Oregon. This retreat might be a fit for you if you work or volunteer in the climate space and could use a little more joy or resilience in your life and your climate work. Space is limited, and early bird pricing ends July 31. Learn more and register here.
Take action this week
If you have a little time: Share this new outreach video. Whether your favorite outdoor activity is surfing, hunting, snowboarding, fishing, hiking, or something else — climate change is affecting all of it. This short video from CCL Conservative Outreach Director Drew Eyerly tackles the topic head on. Share the video from CCL’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or YouTube to encourage your outdoorsy friends to check out CCL and get involved in climate advocacy.
If you have more time: Watch the recording of CCL’s July call. CCL held our July monthly call last Saturday, with guest speaker Sarahia Benn from the Policy Foundation of Maryland. Check out the recording to hear her remarks and learn what actions you can take with CCL this month.
Featured chapter: CCL Las Vegas
CCL’s Las Vegas chapter represents all of Southern Nevada, including three congressional districts. “We’re an energetic group,” says chapter member Joanne Leovy, as evidenced by some of their fantastic media and outreach efforts recently.
Last month, volunteer Rita Ransom published this opinion piece in the Las Vegas Sun, which she crafted with great quotes from other chapter members talking about the local climate impacts they’re personally seeing in Nevada. The piece draws attention to the dangers of poor air quality and the threat of extreme heat. It also touches on the positive impact of planting trees and the critical role they play in reducing the urban heat island effect and helping to promote environmental justice.
Urban trees and their heat mitigation benefits have anchored the chapter’s recent outreach efforts. Joanne says, “In the past couple of months, we have hosted a tree planting and panel discussion, helped with a trail cleanup, and focused our tabling on parts of our community most impacted by extreme heat. We have had a great time working with other local organizations focused on helping our most vulnerable residents become more resilient.”
“We find that action is a great antidote to climate concern,” Joanne adds. Great work, CCL Las Vegas!
Have you logged your recent activities in the Action Tracker? Tell us what you and your chapter have been up to lately.
Action Tracker Want your chapter to be featured? Share your info and photos with us.
Upcoming trainings
7/13: Summer Tabling Opportunities - Members of your community are out and about in the summertime attending fairs, festivals, art walks, and other outdoor events. Attend this training to learn how to set up and conduct summer tabling and clipboarding about climate action, including what materials CCL provides to help you educate, activate and recruit the people you meet. Join us!
7/20: Climate Funding from the Inflation Reduction Act - This training will help you understand how you and your community can benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate funding. We'll review what’s available for homeowners, renters, community organizations, non-profits, religious institutions, and local governments. Join us!
Need training on the basics? Catch our next session of Core Volunteer Training, made for newer volunteers:
7/18: Economics of Carbon Fee & Dividend Policies - Join CCLer and economist Paul Bernstein for a webinar on new ways of thinking about the key components behind any carbon fee and dividend policy, including the Energy Innovation Act. Join us!
To see other topics and past trainings, visit the Training Topics page of CCL Community.
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