Preparing for Conservative Climate Leadership Conference & Lobby Day
Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s Conservative Climate Leadership Conference & Lobby Day is taking place March 4-5, 2025. Politically right of center attendees will meet in Washington, D.C. for a one day conference followed by a day of lobbying Republican members of Congress. This page walks through important details regarding recommended training, how the lobby appointment setting process is being handled, and how to plan and prepare for Lobby Day.
Most Important Training and Resources
The below training is recommended to get you ready for lobby day and familiar with the Asks we will be making to Congress. Click the links below to watch the recordings. Note: political dynamics are unpredictable and can lead to changes in our Asks and training between now and lobby day.
- Mon., February 24, 1 p.m. ET: Conference & Lobby Day Q&A. Held in conjunction with the CCL Congressional Liaisons call, we will review what to expect during the Conservative Conference and Lobby Day, and you’ll have a chance to meet with other conference attendees and CCL Congressional Liaisons for the offices we’ll be meeting with.
- Data to Defend the Inflation Reduction Act Training
- Supporting the Fix Our Forests Act
If you’re new to CCL or you have never taken CCL's Climate Advocate Workshop, we strongly encourage you to sign up and attend the live virtual session on March 2nd at 2 p.m. ET. This workshop is required to lobby with CCL, so plan to attend the virtual session or listen to the recording before arriving at the conference.
Registering for the Conference
The conference is designed for politically right-leaning attendees. If you are politically right of center, please complete a short set of screening questions by February 18, 2025. Within one week of submitting your application you will hear back from CCL staff via email, phone, and/or text. Upon acceptance, you will receive a link to register for the conference. For any questions regarding the conference, email conference.inbox@citizensclimate.org.
Additional Training Opportunities
In addition to the training listed above, there are additional CCL trainings to help you get ready to lobby. All of them take place on Tuesdays, at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT as part of the Core Volunteer Training series (especially great for new-ish volunteers):
- Feb. 11th: Lobbying Basics: Planning and Practicing Your Meeting
- Feb. 25th: Understanding Congress Basics
- Jan. 28th (recording): CCL's Policy Agenda
How Appointments For Meetings Are Set
We are aiming to meet with about 30 Republican Congressional offices for this year’s Conservative Lobby Day. Citizen lobbyists are estimated to have 2-3 meetings and be placed on a lobby team of five to six people. At least one constituent is required for each lobby meeting. We will do our best to put constituents in their congressperson’s meeting. Given attendees from around the country, lobby teams will have a mix of constituents and non-constituents.
CCL Congressional Liaisons and CCL staff will coordinate setting appointments for lobby day. If you are not a liaison, please do not try to set an appointment (you can learn about becoming a liaison here). If you’re not sure if there is a liaison or you need help, contact your State Coordinator or email liaison.coordinator@citizensclimate.org
For registered attendees (registration closes February 20, 2025 11:59 p.m. ET sharp, no exceptions) you will be notified by February 27, 2025 of your lobby team members and schedule. If you do not receive your lobby day schedule by the end of the day on February 27th, please email liaison.coordinator@citizensclimate.org.
Lobby meetings will be taking place on Wednesday, March 5, 2025, starting anywhere from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. ET. All citizen lobbyists participating are expected to be available for that time frame as you can have meetings scheduled anytime in that window.
We kindly ask that you love the schedule you get. The process of coordinating the schedule is complex and changes have domino effects. Sometimes Congressional staffers have requested a limit on the number of people attending the meeting. Lobby meetings are always tentative - they may be scheduled at the last minute, moved, or canceled, so stay flexible with your schedule, and stay in contact with your meeting leader(s). If for any reason you cannot attend a lobby meeting, we ask that you notify both liaison.coordinator@citizensclimate.org and the meeting leader, which can be found on your lobby schedule.
For questions about lobby day, scheduling, or the appointment setting process please email liaison.coordinator@citizensclimate.org.
Lobby Meeting Planning
To best prepare for lobby day we suggest reviewing the recommended training listed above before you arrive in D.C. to start to get familiar with the concepts of the policies we’ll be lobbying on. During the conference we will have training on persuasive communication skills for lobbying and review the Asks once more.
There will be some free time during the conference on March 4th for meeting planning.
Depending on the time of your meeting(s) on March 5th, you may also have time in the morning and during breaks to meet with your teams and plan.
Each lobby team will have a person designated as the lead who will coordinate the planning for the lobby meeting. You will be notified in advance if you are designated as a lobby team lead. If you’ve not led a lobby team before, you can check out the Leading a Lobby Team Training. We encourage you to connect with your team by text or email before the conference.
Resources