Weekly Briefing: Registration is open for CCL’s Virtual Conservative Conference & Lobby Day

Feb. 18, 2026

Registration is officially open for CCL’s Virtual Conservative Conference & Lobby Day! This annual event for CCL’s right-of-center climate advocates provides a chance to link up with the broader eco-right movement, learn about climate and clean energy policy, and lobby Congress to pass it. And for the first time ever, it’s totally online, making it easy for you to attend from anywhere in the country.

The conference itself will take place Saturday, April 18 from 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT to 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT. Attendees will hear from influential conservative voices shaping energy policy and advocacy, including former FERC chairman Neil Chatterjee and Executive Director of republicEN Bob Inglis. 

A virtual lobby day is scheduled for the following Tuesday, April 21, where attendees will put the latest insights and guidance from CCL’s Government Affairs team into action as they meet with Republican Members of Congress.

While this Lobby Day is reserved for right-of-center advocates, select portions of the conference program will be available via livestream to attendees of all political affiliations. This option may be especially relevant for CCL liaisons to Republican Members of Congress or CCLers in heavily Republican states. 

Will we see you there?

 I’m ready to apply! 💪

In other news this week:

CCL’s statement on the EPA endangerment finding: The EPA has finalized its proposal to rescind its 2009 determination that climate pollution endangers public health and welfare, also known as the “endangerment finding.” The decision reveals that regulations alone are not a reliable path to enduring climate action. Ultimately, it’s action from Congress that “will drive the deep, long-term emissions reductions we need,” CCL VP of Government Affairs, Jenn Tyler, said in our official statement.

Take action this week

If you have a little time: Email Congress asking to keep any new EV and hybrid fees fair. Congress is crafting and debating the next Highway Bill reauthorization package, and it will likely include a federal fee for EV and hybrid drivers. We need EVs and hybrids to remain an affordable, clean transportation option. Tell your members of Congress: Keep any new EV and hybrid fee fair compared to the current gas tax.

If you have more time: Start gathering Constituent Letter Forms ahead of the spring recess. There’s an active, bipartisan discussion happening in Congress around permitting reform. But Congress needs grassroots support and encouragement to turn this discussion into action. Now is the time to start gathering Constituent Letter Forms about permitting reform to drop off at Congressional offices during the March 30 - April 10 spring recess. At your chapter meetings, outreach events, or other activities this month, encourage people to fill out our updated form about permitting reform. The more forms we receive, the more local support we can show Congress for our climate policy priorities.

Featured chapter: CCL Lynchburg

CCL Lynchburg kicked off 2026 with an incredible strategic planning session. Co-group leaders Steve Selby and Robin Peeler wanted to start the year strong with an activity that would encourage members to engage in chapter planning and share their ideas.

Steve and Robin hung up five posters, each labeled with one of CCL’s five levers of political will: lobbying Congress, media outreach, grassroots outreach, grasstops engagement, and chapter development. Each member received a stack of Post-It notes where they could write their ideas for activities the chapter could support under each category. 

“We broke into five groups,” explained Steve. “Everybody was really working with another person and writing their ideas under each lever for what we’d like to do now, do in one year, and where we’d like to be in five years.”

“We got some repeat ideas,” added Robin. “Which we took as: If a lot of people came up with it, then that would be a really popular idea that the group would support.”

Steve and Robin collected all the posters at the end of the planning session to  consolidate ideas and present tentative plans to the group at their next chapter meeting. “We’re feeling very positive about it,” said Robin. “It’s really good that we got everybody’s input.” 

Way to set the bar high, CCL Lynchburg! We can’t wait to see what your chapter accomplishes this year and beyond.

CTA/closing: Steve and Robin shared these updates during CCL’s February Monthly meeting on Saturday. Watch their full update starting at the 39:38 mark.

Upcoming events

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