Citizens' Climate Lobby

This month's conversation featured CCL's Senior Business Relations Manager Kyle Kammien talking with Shannon Heyck-Williams, National Wildlife Federation's Senior Director on Climate and Energy Policy.

Join us for Big Tent Climate Talks, a new, engaging, monthly conversation that spotlights leaders in the climate community outside of CCL doing important work in building coalitions around effective climate solutions. At CCL, we know solving climate change requires a variety of policies and perspectives. That's why we do this work under a big tent that includes folks from the right, the left, and every spot in between. In our Big Tent Climate Talks, we'll talk to a wide variety of climate leaders outside of CCL to learn more about how we can all work better together.

Join CCL: https://cclusa.org/join 

Are you curious about what to expect about the November Conference and Lobby Days or have a question about any final details?  Join Amy Bennett, CCL Director of Congressional Liaisons & Lobby Days and Alison Kubicsko, National Events Manager, for a final walk-through of the who, what, and where for the November Conference and Lobby Days to help you prepare for what to expect with the schedule, logistics, and details.

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Presentation slides: http://cclusa.org/logistics 

It turns out that strong climate policy, similar to the Energy Innovation Act, would provide substantial economic benefits to America’s rural communities. Wind and solar energy would expand dramatically, and construction and maintenance of these renewable projects would bring jobs and money to communities in need of the boost. Further, over 80% of the financial benefits would flow to District’s currently held by Republicans! CCL has worked with consultants to generate estimates of the direct annual revenue accruing to each District as a result of a policy similar to a carbon tax, and we’ve produced a two-page summary handouts explaining the benefit for each (similar to the Household Impact Study). 

Join Jerry Hinkle, CCL Research Coordinator for a training on CCL district-specific research that estimates the annual direct revenue accruing to each district from the renewable energy buildout that would result from strong climate policy.  This analysis synthesizes the recent reporting done by RMI and work from UPenn Researcher Kevin Ummel, and it demonstrates that renewable energy development offers significant rural America economic development opportunities.

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Rural Economic Benefits of Climate Policy Resource Page: http://community.citizensclimate.org/resources/item/19/103 

Kathy Baughman McLeod, SVP, Atlantic Council & Director, Adrienne Arsht - Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center reveals the many risks that come with extreme heat. She also provides multiple solutions, including innovative ways to use insurance to change the way we build and respond to extreme weather.

Kathy Baughman McLeod leads the Center’s work to reach one billion people worldwide with climate resilience solutions by 2030. She also chairs the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance which partners with climate-forward Mayors around the world to appoint Chief Heat Officers. Additionally, Kathy is spearheading the global push to name and categorize heat waves. She was formerly Global Executive for Environmental and Social Risk at Bank of America, Managing Director for Climate Risk & Resilience at The Nature Conservancy, and a Florida Climate Commissioner. She is the recipient of the Duke University Fuqua School of Business 2021 “Leader of Consequence” award.

Learn more about Kathy and her work to reach one billion people with climate solutions by visiting One Billion Resilient. Follow Kathy on Twitter. 

Articles by Kathy Baughman McLeod and others about responding to extreme heat.

Foreign Affairs’ “Building a Resilient Planet,” Marketplace’s “How the U.S. could be smarter about insuring against extreme weather-related disasters,” The Financial Times’ “Cities Appoint ‘Heat Officers’ In Response to Warming Threat,” The New Yorker’s “Oil’s Bad, Bad Day,” The Climate Pod’s “How Do We Live with Hotter ‘Climate Normals’?,” Reuter’s “U.S. Cities Hire specialists to counter climate change as impacts worsen,” and Fast Company’s “Athens will be the first European city to appoint a Chief Heat Officer.”bHeat is Killing Us and The Economy Too The Atlantic Council

The Art House

Joining us in the Art House is Marissa Slaven. In 2019 we featured her in Episode 33 to talk about her young adult climate themed novel, Code Blue. Now Marissa is back with the squeal, Code Red. She was inspired by her daughter to write this series of eco-fiction thriller, where a teenage girl and her friends battle climate change. I sat down with her to talk about the new book and to hear her read an excerpt. To learn more about Marissa and her books, visit Stormbird Press. You can also follow her on Twitter. 

You can hear standalone versions of The Art House at Artists and Climate Change

Good News Report

Our good news story this month comes from Flannery Winchester, communications director at Citizens Climate Lobby. Because of the many efforts by CCL volunteers, the needle is moving towards carbon fee and dividend as one of the ways to address climate change. She talks about the budget reconciliation process and volunteer lobbying and how politicians and the press are responding.

We always welcome your thoughts, questions, suggestions, good news, and recommendations for the show. Leave a voice mail at 518.595.9414. (+1 if calling from outside the USA.) You can email your answers to radio @ citizensclimate.org  

You can hear Citizens’ Climate Radio on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher Radio, SoundCloud, Podbean, Northern Spirit Radio, Google Play, PlayerFM, and TuneIn Radio. Also, feel free to connect with other listeners, suggest program ideas, and respond to programs in the Citizens’ Climate Radio Facebook group or on Twitter at @CitizensCRadio.

Join CCL's State and Local Media Coordinator Charlotte Ward for a training that will be focused on how you can best utilize CCL's amazing suite of media resources to amplify the importance of including an ambitious price on carbon in the emerging reconciliation process, including customizing and submitting one of CCL’s op-ed templates, asking an editor for an editorial, writing more local letters to the editor and amplifying your media work on social media.

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Presentation Slides: https://cclusa.org/jump-start-media-slides 

Is carbon fee and dividend really the policy that can bridge the divide between Republicans and Democrats? On this month's call we'll talk to Dr. Ray Ward, a Republican state representative in Utah, about why he likes the policy. When he's not working in the legislature, Ward is a family physician in Bountiful, Utah. Earlier this year, he signed on to an op-ed in the Deseret News with two dozen other Utah Republicans endorsing carbon fee and dividend.

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CCL's October Action Sheet: https://cclusa.org/actionsheet  

Join CCL State Level Carbon Pricing Coordinator Alexis Hermosillo and CCL's legislative interns Amanda Christophe and Matias Alberola for a training that will examine the connection between severance fees and carbon pricing, and help attendees understand current trends and future steps for action.

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(0:00) Introduction & Agenda

(2:41) Introduction of Severance Fees

(4:14) Scope of U.S. Severance Fees

(7:34)Tax Revenue Use

(9:47) Relation to Carbon Pricing

(11:55) Trends and Steps for Action

Presentation Slides: http://cclusa.org/severance-fee-slides

National Conference of State Legislatures: https://www.ncsl.org/research/fiscal-policy/state-energy-revenues-update.aspx 

Dr. Barry Rabe’s research: https://www.brookings.edu/ author/barry-rabe/?type=posts and

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1wNYXHPs3VbXJjHn8MslG3OHzvHo47COK/edit#slide=id.p11 

Join CCL's Marketing Manager Ashley Hunt Martorano for a training that walks you through the strategic ways you can leverage the power of their own social media profiles to amplify and support the actions CCL is taking to help ensure strong climate policy like a carbon price is included in the emerging details of the budget reconciliation process.

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Presentation Slides: http://cclusa.org/10-social-actions-slides  

Join Nate Abercrombie CCL Conservative Outreach Coordinator for a training on communicating with conservatives regarding carbon pricing policies Energy Innovation & Carbon Dividend Act. Nate reviews conservative messaging on climate change, especially with regard to the printed word and highlight the conservative support aligning with key messages and underlying components, connecting how these policies align with conservative values.

Presentation Slides: https://cclusa.org/communicating-with-conservatives 

Contact community leaders you know and ask them to personally call to urge their members of Congress to support carbon pricing in climate legislation. Join CCL Action Director Todd Elvins and CCL leaders Robin Paone and Mark Welsch to find out how you can take action locally.

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CCL Training Page: