Weekly Briefing: L.A. wildfires underscore a growing economic problem

January 15, 2025

The wildfires in Los Angeles continue to rage, displacing tens of thousands of people and wiping thousands of buildings off the map. The immediate impacts are heartbreaking enough — but the economic ripples don’t stop there. In a new article out this week from Yale Climate Connections, CCL Research Coordinator Dana Nuccitelli (pictured) explores how extreme weather like this is straining our country’s insurance systems to the breaking point.

“Somebody has to pay for the costs to repair, rebuild, and replace damaged homes and vehicles,” Dana explains. “But with insurance companies raising rates and dropping customers, the situation is quickly threatening to trigger an insurance crisis.”

How? “When climate change increases the frequency and intensity of disasters, insurance companies will spread the costs across the customer pool in the form of higher rates.” That means “even if you haven’t been directly harmed by extreme weather, you’re paying for some of the costs of those climate-worsened disasters.”

CCL’s Legislative Fellow Danny Richter explored a similar theme in a co-authored piece for the Brookings Institution this week.

In the face of such a challenge, climate advocates like us in CCL have an important role to play. We can connect the dots between the headlines, the larger issue of climate change, and these far-reaching economic impacts. And most importantly, we can remind people that Congress has the power to reduce pollution. The sooner they do, the more stability and security we will have.

Read Dana’s article and share it with folks in your life, whether through conversations, texts or online posts. You can also chat with Dana and Danny about this topic on CCL’s Nerd Corner or on Dana’s Bluesky thread.

Take action this week

If you have a little time: Tell Congress, ‘Let’s work together.’ As the 119th Congress gets underway, now is the perfect time to reach out to your members of Congress and set the stage for this year’s climate advocacy. We’ve set up a simple online tool for you to email your MOCs with the subject line, “Let’s work together.” The message introduces yourself as their constituent and a member of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, and it says in part, “Republicans and Democrats are increasingly working together and finding common ground on climate solutions. How can I support you to be a part of the discussion?” Take a few minutes to personalize your message and send it today.

If you have more time: Watch the recording of CCL’s January meeting. Last weekend, hundreds of CCL chapters and volunteers from around the country tuned in for our first meeting of 2025! We heard a reassuring message from CCL Executive Director Rachel Kerestes about the work ahead of us this year. We also dove into the specifics of the Inflation Reduction Act — and the need to defend it — with guest speaker Lucero Marquez, Associate Director of Federal Climate Policy at Center for American Progress. If you weren’t able to join us live, catch up on the recording.

Featured chapter: CCL Delaware - Read their feature here!

Upcoming trainings

1/16: Data to Defend the IRA - This training covers some useful data for convincing members of Congress to preserve key components of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in the 119th Congress (2025–2026). It also reviews the political climate of this congressional term, and the relative importance of various provisions in the IRA. Join us!

1/21: CCL Community Website Walkthrough - Newer to CCL and excited to make a difference? Take this training to learn to navigate our websites and find opportunities to put your talents, experience and interests to work with CCL. Join us!

1/28: CCL's Policy Agenda - Learn how Citizens’ Climate advocates for an array of policies, including carbon pricing, that reduce pollution and build 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.