Weekly Briefing: CCL Philly Pushes Amtrak To Electrify Renovation Plans

December 6, 2023

 When members of the Philadelphia chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby heard that rail giant Amtrak was planning to install gas-fired boilers in the city’s iconic 30th Street Station, they immediately saw an opportunity to advocate for electrification. 

The chapter saw the plans “as an investment that would lock Amtrak into dependence on fossil fuels for decades,” says Elaine Fultz, who led the chapter’s advocacy effort in this area. “Increased air pollution near the station would worsen its already high rate of respiratory diseases,” she added.

Through collaboration with other environmental groups, direct advocacy targeted at Amtrak, and a consistent local media campaign, CCL Philly succeeded in steering things in a more electric direction! On Nov. 16, Amtrak declared a significant reversal, deciding to eliminate the gas boilers from the renovation project. 

Amtrak cited the persistent and insightful input of the local Citizens’ Climate Lobby chapter and Philadelphia’s Clean Air Council, alongside a coalition of other environmental organizations, as key to their decision.

Read more about this exciting win in today’s blog post.

In other news this week:

• Climate Solutions Caucus chairs at COP - The chairs of the bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus, Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY-02) and Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-06) led a bipartisan delegation of members of Congress to COP28. Rep. Garbarino said the goal was “to learn, as a group, what we can do in a bipartisan way” to fight climate change. We love to see it!

• CCL’s next Executive Director - We're on the lookout for a dynamic Executive Director to help in the fight for a cooler planet. Apply now or share the job listing! Learn more about the search from our board chairs.

Your donations make the difference

The urgency for collective action to address climate change has never been more evident or pressing. CCL empowers citizens from diverse backgrounds to build support for climate solutions based on shared values and goals. We generate the political will needed to transform our energy systems and reshape our economies. And we do it on both sides of the aisle. 

Our approach is working. But we can’t afford to lose momentum now. We need your support to reach our year-end goal of $1.25 million and ensure big climate wins in 2024. Will you make a year-end donation today?

Take action this week

If you have a little time: Join our monthly meeting. This Saturday at 1 p.m. ET / 10 p.m. PT, join us on Zoom for CCL's December monthly meeting. We'll go over actions you and your chapter can take this month, celebrate highlights from the year, and hear from guest speaker Amanda Ripley, the New York Times bestselling author of "High Conflict." 

If you have more time: Get ready for election engagement. CCL is ramping up our 2024 election work and wants your help in getting climate voters to the polls. The Election Engagement Action Team will host a Phone Bank Leader Training on Dec. 13 with the Environmental Voter Project (EVP). EVP is also hosting a Postcarding Orientation on Dec. 14 and Jan. 3 for sending get-out-the-vote postcards for the election on March 5. Now is the time to start making the 2024 election a climate election!

Featured chapter: CCL Santa Barbara

CCL Santa Barbara is an active group making a national impact. You've almost certainly heard the name of this chapter's congressional representative: Rep. Salud Carbajal, who reintroduced the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act this year (pictured above). Congressional liaison Carol Schwyzer cites the chapter's "decade-long relationship" with Rep. Carbajal as a major factor in his lead sponsorship of this important legislation.

The chapter builds broad support for climate action through local media (more than 20 op-eds and LTEs this year!) and local in-person outreach. They have been tabling at a climate lecture series at UC Santa Barbara, and next year, they plan to present at UC Santa Barbara’s Institute for Energy Efficiency, give classes for a life-long learning program, and will be interviewed by TEDxSB. 

"We’re excited about a grant we received from Montecito Rotary to send a student to CCL’s Washington, D.C., Conference in June 2024," says group leader John Kelley.

Keep up the great work, CCL Santa Barbara!

Have you logged your recent activities in the Action Tracker? Tell us what your chapter has been up to lately.

Upcoming trainings

12/7: End of Year Media Opportunities - Join CCL Communications staff for a review of important end of the year media opportunities, including topics for letters to the editor and updated op-ed templates. Join us!

12/14: What's in the Fifth National Climate Assessment Report? - Join CCL Research Coordinator Dana Nuccitelli for a training that will discuss the latest landmark National Climate Assessment report. This is essentially an America-specific version of the IPCC report, outlining climate trends, impacts, and solutions in each region of the country. Join us!

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

12/12: Telling Compelling Stories - Learn how to harness and tell your own compelling climate story. For this training, it will be helpful to have a notebook handy in order to capture details of what you might include in your personal story. Join us!

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

Nerd Corner Chart of the Week

Falling costs and rising deployment of clean technologies

Join the discussion about the Fifth National Climate Assessment.