Weekly Briefing: Tell Congress About Latest Carbon Pricing Research
May 29, 2024
It’s no secret that we love carbon pricing here at CCL. We’ve long advocated for a price on pollution, and we’re keeping at it. So we were excited when some new research dropped recently, confirming that a carbon price is one of the best policy options to help America achieve our climate goals.
Economists at the Hamilton Project and Brookings Institution modeled several different climate policy scenarios. Of all the scenarios they modeled, adding a carbon price on top of America’s current climate policies would be “the best of all the scenarios — it gets us the most emissions cuts,” CCL Research Coordinator Dana Nuccitelli explained in a recent training. That’s big news!
Over the last few weeks, you’ve sent 7,263 messages to Congress to make sure they know these exciting findings. We’re aiming at 10,000 messages.
If you haven’t sent yours yet, take a few minutes today to reach out to your members of Congress. Our easy online tool is populated with a template message and a link to this new research. In just a few clicks, you can let lawmakers know just how powerful a carbon price really is!
In other news this week:
• Farewell to Tony Sirna: After 10 years on CCL's staff, Tony Sirna is moving on to his next adventure. Share a favorite memory or words of appreciation for all that he has brought to CCL and to the climate movement on this Kudoboard.
• New podcast episode: Episode 95 of Citizens’ Climate Radio features guests Rob Hopkins and Carrie Ziegler to explore playful climate solutions and community art projects making a difference. Listen now!
• War and climate: CCL holds several “Race, Climate and Culture Conversations” throughout the year. The latest conversation focused on the issues of war and climate change and their impacts on different communities worldwide.
Take action this week
If you have a little time: Share our postcarding pics. Many of our CCL volunteers have been writing postcards to people who care about the environment, encouraging them to vote in this year’s election. We shared photos from our chapters’ postcarding parties in Indiana, Virginia, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Colorado and more, which you can see and share on Instagram or Facebook. (Bonus: Sharing the post reminds your own friends and family to vote, too!)
If you have more time: Finalize your Lobby Day prep. CCL liaisons are hard at work planning effective meetings for our June 11 visit to Capitol Hill, which is right around the corner! If you’re attending, review the relevant training and resources for this year’s lobbying asks, meeting tips, and planning times at the conference. If you won’t be in D.C. with us this year, ask your chapter’s liaison how you can help support the meeting from home — maybe gathering a few final constituent letters for them to bring to Capitol Hill, or planning to post a photo from the lobby meeting on social media.
Featured chapter: CCL FL Gainesville
CCL Gainesville is a small chapter that’s going strong in north Florida. Recently, they had an exciting breakthrough with their member of Congress, Rep. Kat Cammack (R-FL-03), securing her as a cosponsor for the Increased TSP Access Act.
Persevering through some scheduling challenges, the chapter eventually got a meeting on the books at the end of January. They focused on identifying issues important to Rep. Cammack, like ranching and agriculture, that related to the bill. Chapter leader Bob Tancig reveals that this success was possible because they had “developed a good relationship with their former member of Congress” who had the current representative on their staff. In the meeting, the local volunteers demonstrated gratitude, appreciation, and respect, following CCL's lobbying guidance effectively — and Rep. Cammack signed onto the bill a matter of days later.
Looking ahead, chapter co-leaders Bob Tancig and Jon Word are working to grow the Gainesville chapter and maintain a strong relationship with Rep. Cammack’s office. Keep on keeping on, Gainesville!
Want to chat with the Gainesville chapter about how they built this great relationship? Join the conversation on CCL Community.
Today's featured chapter story was provided by CCL intern Cristine Lin.
Upcoming trainings
5/30: Leading a Lobby Team - In this training, we review the role of a lobby team leader, how they assign team roles, coordinate practice times and how to handle other special situations. Join us!
6/4: CCL’s Policy Agenda - CCL Research Coordinator Dana Nuccitelli will help you get familiar with an array of policies, including carbon pricing, that CCL supports to reduce carbon pollution and build bridges both in Congress and in our communities. Join us!
To see other topics and past trainings, visit the Training Topics page of CCL Community.
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