Weekly Briefing: In A New Political Landscape, We Will Protect Our Climate Progress

Average Rating:

November 6, 2024

After a busy election season, the people have spoken and the votes are largely tallied: Former President Trump has won the presidential election. Republicans won a majority in the Senate, and though many House races are still being called, it looks like Republicans may keep a slim majority in that chamber of Congress.

627f46bdc1fad64e5a05b668a771d662-huge-reHere at CCL, we respect the outcome of this free and fair democratic process. We also recognize the unique challenges this political landscape presents for climate action.

We’ve passed policies that will drive down carbon pollution and accelerate the transition to clean energy across the U.S. But now, that progress is at risk. During the campaign, president-elect Donald Trump pledged to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act — a critical climate win that CCL lobbied hard to secure. We will need to protect the progress we’ve made.

But remember: Climate work has always been a long-term commitment. No single election outcome will solve the issue, and no single election outcome will dissolve our commitment to this work.

With that in mind, we still see opportunities for climate action. Bipartisan climate action has happened under Republican administrations and unified Republican control before, and it will happen again. Our long history of working respectfully across the aisle means we have earned a seat at the table with lawmakers in both parties. We are well positioned to make progress on evidence-based climate solutions, even now.

Join us this weekend to send messages to President Biden, to sitting members of Congress, to local media, and more in support of climate action. And plan to attend CCL’s Fall Virtual Conference to prepare for climate progress in this new political landscape.

Register Today

In other news this week:

  • Need to talk? CCL’s Regional Directors are holding office hours this month to help volunteers connect and support each other.

Take action this week

If you have a little time: Take action with us on Saturday. With Election Day behind us, it’s crucial that we raise the call for climate action everywhere we can: to President Biden. To Congress. With our communities. In local media. On Saturday, Nov. 9, our monthly meeting will be a special “action hour” where we will do all of that together. We’ll also hear post-election perspective from CCL’s Executive Director, Rachel Kerestes, and CCL’s VP of Government Affairs, Ben Pendergrass. See you there.

If you have more time: Plan to attend CCL’s Fall Virtual Conference. This year’s Fall Virtual Conference, called “Positioning for Progress,” will take place Dec. 6-7. Take a few minutes this week to sign up for it. This free online conference will get you up to speed on the new legislative landscape we’re facing after the election, preparing you to make an impact in the final weeks of 2024 and in the new Congress beginning next year. Join us.

Featured chapter: CCL Fayetteville

After officially re-launching in February, CCL’s Fayetteville chapter has been a flurry of activity. Co-led by Joanna Person-Michener and Sterling Smith, the chapter’s membership ranges from older community members to local college students from the University of Arkansas.

CCL Fayetteville has tackled everything from tabling events, to letter drop-offs at local congressional offices, to grasstops outreach. Fayetteville Mayor Lioneld Jordan has approached the chapter about helping build support for protecting the city’s tree canopy, and he even attended a chapter meeting! Chapter members learned about Fayetteville’s new climate action plan through a presentation from the city’s Resilience and Sustainability Director.

And, in all of these action-packed months, the chapter has prioritized meaningful time together to connect. They went for a hike at a local nature reserve for one of their recent meetings, because for Joanna and Sterling, resilience is the name of the game.

“We’re trying to instill hope for people,” Joanna says. Sterling adds, “When all of us can support each other and just move the needle little by little…we can get there.” Keep crushing it, CCL Fayetteville!

Want to chat with the Fayetteville volunteers? Join the conversation on CCL Community.

Join the Conversation

Upcoming trainings

11/12: Lobbying Basics: Planning & Practicing Your Meeting - This training specifically addresses how to prepare yourself for a successful meeting with a member of Congress. You will learn about CCL's methodology, research tips, available tools, lobby meeting roles and parts, the value of practice, and the power of listening. Join us!

11/19: Fall Conference & Lobby Day Q&A - Join CCL's National Events Director Alison Kubicsko and CCL's North Wind Regional Director & Liaison Program Coordinator Mindy Ahler for a training to answer all of your questions about CCL's Fall Conference and Lobby Days. Join us!

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

Nerd Corner Chart of the Week

LNG%20Emissions.png

Study suggests increasing US LNG exports would slightly reduce climate pollution

Join the discussion about how increasing American liquified natural gas exports could slightly reduce global climate pollution.

Posted by Brett Cease on Nov 6, 2024 3:09 PM America/Los_Angeles

Share this

Share:

Recent Posts

CCL’s West Los Angeles chapter has had “a very challenging 2025 so far,” say group leaders Gerda Newbold and Kathy Seal, beginning with several of their longtime members losing their homes in the Palisades fire. “Additionally, the hostility toward—and active dismantling of—climate legislation by the current administration has been difficult to ... more
Posted by Flannery Winchester on CCL Community Bulletin Jun 26, 2025 6:19 AM PDT
June 25, 2025 “About 128 million Americans from Louisiana to Maine are under heat advisories Wednesday amid a severe heat wave impacting much of the U.S.,” CBS News reported this morning. “Extreme heat is only becoming more common,” TIME points out . “In the United States, heat waves now occur three times as often as they did in the 1960s, and [...] ... more
Posted by Flannery Winchester on CCL Community Bulletin Jun 26, 2025 6:18 AM PDT
June 18, 2025 On Monday, the Senate Finance Committee released its portion of the big budget bill that’s working its way through Congress. After the House passed a version of this bill that drastically cuts America’s clean energy tax credits, we’ve been pushing hard on the Senate — and the Senate Finance Committee in particular — to do a better job ... more
Posted by Flannery Winchester on CCL Community Bulletin Jun 23, 2025 3:47 PM PDT
June 11, 2025 We’re talking up clean energy tax credits — and Senators are listening At the end of May, the House of Representatives voted to pass a budget bill that would dramatically roll back America’s clean energy tax credits. In the days since that vote, CCLers have been working hard to encourage the Senate to protect these tax credits. Volunteers ... more
Posted by Elissa Tennant on CCL Community Bulletin Jun 11, 2025 6:04 PM PDT