Weekly Briefing: Snow, ice & cold temps underscore the importance of energy permitting reform

Jan. 28, 2026

Source: CNN Weather

Millions of Americans braced for extreme weather this past week, buying out grocery stores and stocking up on emergency preparedness supplies. Chances are, you experienced (or are actively experiencing) at least one of these in the last five days: 

• Ice and snow storms: More than 19 states saw over a foot of snow. Even states that have typically mild or warmer climates were impacted. The Dallas-Fort Worth Airport saw 0.5 inches of snow, breaking a record previously set in 1949. Southern states were also impacted by ice storms with accumulations in unexpected cities like Corpus Christi, TX, Myrtle Beach, SC, and Rayville, LA.
• Extreme cold: A surge of Arctic air has deposited frigid temperatures across much of the U.S. States from Texas to Maine are under extreme cold watches. More than half of Americans continue to face unusually cold and potentially dangerous temperatures.
• Power outages: Every time an extreme weather event hits, America’s aging power grid faces yet another test. Hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses lost power over the weekend. On Monday, 800,000 people still did not have power, despite the freezing cold temperatures.

Per the New York Times, “Weather and climate are not the same thing, but they are related. In a broad sense, climate change encourages extreme weather events by altering the background conditions in the atmosphere.” A warming atmosphere can hold more moisture, for example, leading to intense precipitation.

As climate change advances, extreme weather is a growing threat to America’s infrastructure, health, and safety.  But comprehensive permitting reform — which CCL is working hard to make happen in Congress — can help in a few ways. 

First, expanding transmission allows us to connect geographically diverse regions. If one region is hit by a storm that knocks out some power generation, but a region outside the area impacted by the storm can share some of their extra power, it can reduce power outages. 

Second, permitting reform will help us build more available power generation, making us more resilient against outages. Batteries in particular are helpful because they can store energy in anticipation of potential outages from a storm. One study found that areas with more renewable energy already integrated into their power grid experienced fewer blackouts. 

Research from Potential Energy Coalition shows that “extreme weather events are pivotal moments for education and building support” around climate change. Share CCL’s social media posts to help your network connect the dots between the impacts of this winter storm and the policy action that can help.

Then, reach out to your representative and senators. The longer we delay permitting reform, the longer clean energy stays off the grid and the more vulnerable Americans become to extreme weather and blackouts. Ask Congress to enact bipartisan permitting reform legislation now.

Call Congress in Support of Permitting Reform ⚡

In other news

• PROVE IT Act language becomes law: In a quiet — but exciting! — development in D.C., language from the PROVE IT Act was recently included in an appropriations bill that has now been signed into law.

  The PROVE IT Act was a bill in the 118th Congress (2023-2024) that would have directed the Department of Energy to measure the carbon intensity of certain goods produced at home and abroad, helping America negotiate effectively with trading partners who have carbon tariffs in place, such as Europe. CCL advocated for it with hundreds of lobby meetings and other mobilization efforts throughout the 118th Congress.

  In the Energy and Water Appropriations bill that was just signed into law, Congress included language very similar to the PROVE IT Act, directing the Department of Energy to calculate the carbon intensity difference between American and foreign products that are covered by Europe's carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). As CCL continues to advocate for trade policies that reduce emissions, this policy win is an important one.

  We're thrilled that this policy idea finally found the right legislative vehicle and the right moment to make it across the finish line, and we're proud of all our advocacy work that helped make this progress possible!

• Offshore wind projects resume: Late last year, the Trump administration announced it would pause five offshore wind leases for at least 90 days, effectively halting construction. As of Friday, three of the five projects have been restarted thanks to industry lawsuits. The final two are currently making their way through federal courts. We’re looking forward to seeing more renewable, affordable energy make its way to the East Coast via these critical infrastructure projects.

Take action this week

If you have a little time: Contact your Senator in support of FOFA. In 2025, the Fix Our Forests Act (FOFA) passed the House and the Senate Agriculture Committee with strong bipartisan votes. Next, it will be up for consideration by the full Senate. So far, we’ve sent 3,577 messages to Congress asking them to support the bill. Help us reach our goal of 5,000! Send your Senator a message to let them know about the bill’s progress and voice your support.

If you have more time: Attend CCL’s Liaison Training tomorrow. Interested in deepening your climate advocacy in 2026 by working more closely with your Members of Congress and their staff? Tomorrow, Jan. 29, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, attend CCL’s “Becoming a CCL Liaison” training. This event will provide an overview of the Congressional Liaisons Program, what the responsibilities are for the role, how to get involved if you are interested, and how to find out if there is a liaison need in your Congressional district. If you can’t attend in person, this event will be recorded and posted on CCL Community.

Featured chapter: CCL Minneapolis

CCL Minneapolis recently put together this wonderful year-in-review to celebrate their 2025 climate advocacy accomplishments, including holding 20 lobby meetings, making 698 contacts with their Members of Congress, and welcoming 99 new members.

"I’m so impressed with all our new volunteers who’ve stepped up this year in so many different ways for our chapter," says Group Leader Andy Willette, from tabling at the Monarch Festival, which celebrates the monarch's 2,300-mile migration from Minnesota to Mexico, to gathering and delivering 50+ constituent letters to their Senators' office this past fall, and much more.

But top of mind for the Minneapolis chapter right now is not climate change — it is their community. After multiple instances of deadly violence from federal agents in their city, claiming the lives of Renée Good on Jan. 7 and Alex Pretti on Saturday, CCL Minneapolis group leader Andy Willette says, "We are in pain."

Poet Amanda Gorman said in a new piece honoring Alex Pretti, "To care intensively, united, is to carry both pain-dark horror for today and a profound, daring hope for tomorrow." In that spirit, CCL Minneapolis chapter members will be tabling at another event this weekend, even as many of them continue to participate in vigils, mutual aid, speaking out, and finding other ways, big and small, to support and protect their neighbors.

Thank you, CCL Minneapolis.

CCL has over 350 chapters across the country. Find your local chapter today and get plugged in. 

CCL Trainings

2/5: The Challenge of Energy Affordability and Security - Electrification is a key climate solution in the transition to clean energy sources. But electricity rates are rising fast and face surging demand from artificial intelligence data centers. Expensive electricity and an insufficient power supply could endanger electrification efforts. Fortunately, in an age of high costs of living, policymakers are very interested in finding solutions. Join CCL's Research Manager Dana Nuccitelli, supported by CCL's Electrification Action Team to learn what's behind rising electricity rates and energy insecurity, and how we can solve these problems. Join us!

WATCH: From Intuition to Insight: Understanding How We All Make Meaning - This training, which took place Jan. 22, explores the first unit in CCL's BRIDGE Advocacy Program. Take a deeper look at how all of us arrive at decisions and form beliefs, using insights from behavioral science. Then, explore why intuition and emotion usually come first, and how reasoning often follows to justify those initial reactions, and why this matters for our climate advocacy. Watch Recording.

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