FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Volunteers on the Capitol steps at the beginning of CCL’s 2023 lobby day
Volunteer climate lobbyists hold 436 meetings in one busy day on Capitol Hill
June 2023 – Citizens’ Climate Lobby recently held its 14th annual conference and lobby day in Washington, D.C., welcoming 895 in-person attendees. An estimated 700 additional unique participants tuned in via live stream on June 11 and 12.
Participants spanned the political spectrum and attended from all 50 states. They received training in effective lobbying techniques, as well as education about climate policy and current legislative opportunities like permitting reform and carbon border adjustments.
On June 13, in-person attendees put all those pieces together on Capitol Hill, holding 436 constituent lobby meetings. This marked CCL’s largest presence on the Hill since before the COVID-19 pandemic. Broken down by party and chamber, the meetings took place with the offices of:
- 160 House Republicans
- 182 House Democrats
- 45 Senate Republicans
- 46 Senate Democrats
- 3 Senate Independents
More than 100 lobby day images from CCL volunteers’ social media posts are available to view. Members of the media are welcome to attend future lobby days for live interviews and visuals.
One of the volunteers’ primary asks was for House offices to support the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, a carbon pricing bill anticipated to be reintroduced in this Congress and long supported by CCL. Another option for a primary ask was the new bipartisan PROVE IT Act, introduced just days before our conference and volunteer lobby meetings on Capitol Hill.
Keynote speaker Francis Rooney, former Republican Congressman from Florida’s 19th District, discussed carbon pricing in his remarks, saying, “This is just so logical. It works. It’s a win-win for everybody.” Rooney cosponsored the Energy Innovation Act during the 116th Congress before his retirement. In the 117th Congress, the legislation earned the support of 95 cosponsors.
Rachel Kyte, dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University and member of the U.N. Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Action, delivered the closing keynote address. She called CCL volunteers a “dedicated vanguard of people who are committed to helping their communities — local and global — to stay on the right side of history.”
“Our science deserves better politics,” Kyte said. “But it is our politics that is getting in the way.” That message underscored just why a nonpartisan grassroots group like CCL is so critical in today’s political landscape.
Also at the event, CCL Executive Director Madeleine Para announced that she is transitioning to President to focus on organizational partnerships and development, and board member Mark Reynolds will become CCL’s acting Executive Director.
Recordings of all conference content and Para’s remarks are available in a June 2023 Conference playlist on CCL’s YouTube channel.
CONTACT: Senior Director of Communications Flannery Winchester, , 615-337-3642
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Citizens’ Climate Lobby is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy organization focused on national policies to address climate change. Learn more at citizensclimatelobby.org.
