Citizens' Climate Lobby

You’ve brought a fresh energy to CCL’s work in 2023! Join Elli Sparks for a training that will review how to use this momentum to help raise funds for CCL/CCE. No other organization trains citizens to be heard by their government the way CCL does. Chances are your friends and family are proud of your work and will want to support it. Elli will review how you can use new resources to create any of the following:

A Facebook fundraiser: anyone in your chapter can host an individual fundraiser for CCL — an easy and lightweight option. 

A donation party: Gather your friends and families together for an in-person celebration, like a backyard barbeque. At the party, share a bit about your involvement with CCL and why it matters, and ask for donations. 

An activity a-thon: Set a goal and collect pledges from your friends and family. Your challenge can be anything — number of miles run, games of chess won, mittens knitted, or conversations about climate change. Here’s your chance to get creative!

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• (0:00) Intro & Goal Setting

Presentation Slides: https://cclusa.org/summer-fundraising-slides 

Ruth Abraham and Lila Powell, interns for Citizens Climate Radio, take over the show, and take a deep dive into the world of carbon pricing. 

To see our full notes and full transcript visit our episode 85 page.  

Citizens Climate Lobby's Carbon Pricing page states: “A strong, economy-wide price on carbon could reduce America’s carbon pollution by 50% by 2030, putting us on track to reach net zero [carbon production] by 2050.”

Carbon pricing is an economic solution to climate change. When Marshall Saunders first envisioned the creation of CCL, Cap-and-Trade was the primary way lawmakers heard about carbon pricing. But through relentless messaging and volunteer lobbying, the discussion has shifted to carbon fee and dividend. 

The ultimate goal? Incentivize both businesses and individuals to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Citizens’ Climate Lobby advocates for a carbon fee and dividend, an economy-wide fee that is then returned to citizens. At the point of extraction, a fee will be placed on fossil fuels. This collected store of cash will then be distributed back to individuals and in turn, flow through the economy, incentivizing both businesses and people to slowly but surely rely on renewables. 

Naomi Shimberg is a self-described aspiring economist who hopes to research the design of environmental and energy policy. 

A recent graduate at Yale with a B.A. in Ethics, Politics, and Economics, Shimberg was the senior producer at Pricing Nature where she produced and hosted episodes of Pricing Nature, a podcast on the economics of climate change. She spends her time explaining externalities and the infamous  “social cost of carbon.” Shimberg also establishes that environmental inequities are essential to determining an appropriate climate price. Furthermore, she mentions that while it is efficient in reducing pollution it’s not an entirely equitable tool. 

Nokwanda Maseko is now a Senior Economist at Trade and Industrial Policy Strategies' with a background in development economics. Nokwanda conducts economic research, with a focus on industrial policy, trade, and climate change. Gender and the Just Transition in South Africa is a topic Nokwanda enjoys and is able to work on professionally. In this episode, Nokwanda says that although carbon pricing can help reduce emissions and promote innovation, it can also potentially increase costs for marginalized communities. Nokwanda discusses how general development as well as the transportation, agriculture, and energy production sectors in South Africa have several factors to consider when envisioning a green and equitable future. 

The benefits of carbon pricing include but are not limited to affordable clean energy, saved lives due to the restoration of clean air, and the innovation of American businesses. 

Nerd Corner

Dana Nuccitelli highlights climate research (and makes it understandable) for fellow nerds and the nerd curious! In this episode Dana explains the basics behind addressing pollution and equity through carbon fee and dividend. 

Check out Dana’s post about how far and fast a price on carbon can drive down emissions within the United States here. 

Good News Story

Citizens Climate Radio host, Peterson Toscano, shares good news about the Conservative Climate Caucus in the House of Representatives. It is much bigger than most people could have ever imagined! 

If you have an idea for a Good News Story, contact us: [email protected] 

Listener Survey

We want to hear your feedback about this episode. After you listen, feel free to fill in this short survey. Your feedback will help us as we make new decisions about the content, guests, and style of the show. You can fill it out anonymously and answer whichever questions you like.

To have any shot at building the clean energy economy needed to turn back climate change, we will have to overcome the inflexive resistance to development of the projects and resources that will facilitate that transition. Perhaps the most trusted person to deliver that message to environmentalists is climate champion Bill McKibben, and that's exactly what he did in a recent piece for Mother Jones. He joins this month's national call days before our volunteers go to lobby on Capitol Hill. Bill is an author, educator, and environmentalist, who helped found 350.org, the first global grassroots climate campaign, and he recently helped found Third Act, a progressive organizing movement for people over the age of 60.

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Bill's article in Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2023/04/yimby-nimby-progressives-clean-energy-infrastructure-housing-development-wind-solar-bill-mckibben/ 

With our expanded policy agenda, it can be tough to keep track of how we expect to make progress in each area. Join Topher Anderson, Senior Development Officer, for a training that will provide a high-level overview of how we move the needle for each policy area, and what we specifically aim to do in the 118th Congress. This presentation was also originally written as a fundraising document, so you can share it with potential donors as well.

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Presentation Slides: https://cclusa.org/roadmap-slides  

This training is designed for those who wish to learn more about leading a lobby meeting with a member of Congress or staff. In this training, we review the role of a lobby team leader, how they assign team roles, coordinate practice times and how to handle other special situations.

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Presentation Slides: http://cclusa.org/lobbylead 

This training is part of the “Working With Congress” training series, designed to empower you - an important member of our volunteer network - to be ready for lobby meetings, both in-district and in D.C. Learn about citizen advocacy, the advantages we hold as citizens in transforming our government and the policies we adopt, and hear stories from CCL volunteers around the country who demonstrate how citizens can build meaningful, long-term relationships with their congressional office. 

Presentation slides: http://cclusa.org/transformative-power 

In this episode of Citizens’ Climate Change, we explore the intersection between the Bible and climate change. More specifically, we discuss the Christian faith and how it inspires its followers to advocate for the planet. 

See full notes and transcript on the Episode 84 page.

Pastor Kyle Meyaard Schaap, husband, father, and self-described disciple of Jesus, is Vice President of the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN). EEN is a ministry that educates, inspires, and mobilizes Christians in their effort to care for God’s creation. Pastor Schaap is also of the book, Following Jesus in a Warming World: A Christian Call to Climate Action. It was published by Intervarsity Press, and is a memoir and theological field guide written for millennials and Gen Z believers. His message is that there is a space for Christians in the environmentalist movement. 

In fact, Pastor Schaap reminds us that the Bible starts off with Genesis where God gives man authority over creation. Schaap reveals to us how his faith as a Chrisitan inspires his climate work. Jesus asked his followers to love their neighbor as themselves, and Schaap asks Christians to extend this invitation to love all things including the natural world. Even further, Pastor Schaap suggests as Christians strive to be like Jesus, they must be impatient for the Kingdom of God. He urges fellow Christians to commit to creation care.

“Our hope, and God's good plans for the world, has always been more stubborn than our fear of our ability to derail them.” - Kyle Meyaard Schaap

A Climate Life Verse

Ruth Abraham, a member of the Citizens Climate Radio team, shares with us the Bible verse that speaks to her about creation care and our need to clean up the pollution in the world. She is inspired by the Christman hymn, Joy to the World, which was written by Isaac Watts, and a verse in Luke’s Gospel. 

Luke Chapter 2 verse 7  “And Mary gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

Joy to the world,/ the Lord is come

Let Earth receive her King /

Let every heart / prepare Him room

And Heaven and nature sing

And Heaven and nature sing 

/(say it with me now)/

And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing

But the resonating line for Ruth is / “prepare Him room.” 

In light of the humble reception Jesus received when he first arrived on earth, she recommends we consider how to prepare for his second coming. For Ruth, that means cleaning the air and water that God has gifted to us.

Take a Meaningful Next Step

Each month we will suggest meaningful, achievable, and measurable next steps for you to consider. We recognize that action is an antidote to despair. If you are struggling with what you can do, consider one of the following next steps. 

• If you are a trained clergy or a lay minister, the Red Cross is actively looking for volunteers to provide spiritual support to people who experienced a disaster. Besides big regional disasters like hurricanes, tornados, and wildfires, the Red Cross also responds to local disasters like housefires. Learn about the many volunteer opportunities at RedCross.org.

• I’m a Climate Scientist Who Believes in God. Hear Me Out. - The New York Times

Resilience Corner 

“Resilience is about recognizing a challenge and moving through it, so that we’re a little bit stronger on the other side of it.” 

Tamara Stanton, returns this episode with a new series: Resilient Climate-teering through Unexpected Climate Connections. The goal is to have you, the listener, worry less and act more. 

After revealing the motivation behind the name “Climate-Teering.” Staton begins to equip us with the tools necessary to combat the inevitable challenges that come alongside climate change. She reminds us that resilient minds respond to conflict with an, “I got this,” attitude.

Good News 

CCR’s very own intern, Lila Powell, delivers a story about various faith groups who are collaborating to advance a climate preservation mission. In 2022, Egypt hosted COP27. In attendance were several religious institutions and a wonderful demonstration of interfaith conversations in support of climate policy. In addition to committees, some faith groups have gone as far as publically divesting from fossil fuels. It is a great step forward. 

For more links and full transcript, visit our full show notes

Join CCL's Vice President of Government Affairs Ben Pendergrass and Senior Director Jenn Tyler for a training that will provide up to the moment insights on the dynamics in Congress and how we can most effectively use our time in meetings to support our agenda. This is a recommended training for any CCL volunteer planning on being a part of their group's June 2023 Lobby Meeting (as well as the previous week - Lobby Training #1 - CCL's June 2022 Primary & Supporting Asks: https://youtu.be/sBRQRnmMyts)

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• (0:00) Intro & Agenda

Join CCL's Vice President of Government Affairs Ben Pendergrass and Senior Director Jenn Tyler for a training that will review the updates and context for CCL's June 2023 Primary and Supporting Asks as well as guidance for lobby teams as they plan their in-person meetings. This is a recommended training for any CCL volunteer planning on being a part of their group's June 2023 Lobby Meeting (as well as the next Monday's - Lobby Training #2 - CCL's Legislative Plan).

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Presentation Slides: http://cclusa.org/june-asks-slides 

The transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy will require massive amounts of metals that go into the production of electric vehicles, batteries, induction stoves, wind turbines and solar panels. Do enough of these metals exist to get the job done? Where can they be found and can they be extracted in a sustainable manner that doesn't lay waste to our environment? For answers, we turn this month to Dr. Adam Simon, Professor of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan. His work focuses on the global flow of energy and mineral resources with an emphasis on the geologic availability of energy critical metals. Adam has co-authored two textbooks and published seventy papers in the field of energy and mineral resources.

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Register for June 10-13 CCL Conference: https://cclusa.org/juneconference