Citizens' Climate Lobby

Lobbying with Impact: How to Prepare and Show Up Strong for Congressional Meetings

This training is your roadmap to showing up confident, clear, and connected when you walk into a Congressional meeting.

In this session, you’ll learn how to research effectively using tools like Congressional bios, profile and key studies, understand the different roles within a lobby team, and see how a well-run lobby meeting flows.

Whether it’s your first lobby day or your tenth, this training will help you be prepared, focused, and ready to make your voice count.

LTEs and Op-Eds Workshop to Protect the Clean Energy Tax Credits

The Senate is moving forward on their version of a budget reconciliation bill that could drastically cut clean energy tax credits. CCL wants to protect those tax credits. We have been emailing, calling, and meeting with members of Congress about this for months. Now it's time to take the conversation public in local media all around the country! Join this special workshop with Charlotte Ward, CCL's Communications and Media Manager, to learn everything you need to know to write an effective letter to the editor (LTE) or a full op-ed about the tax credits. After a quick overview and training, you'll spend 20 minutes of focused time writing your LTE or personalizing our op-ed template during the call. Please note that this event includes a short visual presentation and helpful links to access as you write. If you're a Citizens' Climate Lobby volunteer, you can log your training automatically when signed into CCL Community by clicking: https://community.citizensclimate.org/log_training?sf_id=a5yUP000000AHfVYAW Resources from this training https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/102bE0oAgDIT_MuHHbONZA2IdSnhDfCRFVw4kD9vQGl8/edit?slide=id.g333ca062a2c_0_26#slide=id.g333ca062a2c_0_26 https://docs.google.com/document/d/1B1RfD0AQt6E_28aqHEAV1Uc95wd3dvYByEi-dd9m0XA/edit?usp=sharing

CCL Training: Fix Our Forests Act - Senate Bill

In this session, we take a close look at the Senate version of this important bipartisan legislation and explore why it’s critical for the climate, for forest health, and for wildfire resilience. You’ll hear from Dana Nuccitelli, CCL’s Research Manager, who will walk us through the science and policy details, and from Jennifer Tyler, our Vice President of Government Affairs, who will explain what this means for Congress and how CCL volunteers can help move it forward.

CCU Training: Navigating Climate Advocacy in a Changing Political Landscape

Danny Richter, a policy fellow for CCL, led a discussion on CCL's strategic approach to engaging with the newly configured Congress. He highlighted the organization's priorities, including defending the clean energy provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act, advocating for the Fix Our Forest Act, supporting Foreign Pollution Fees and cautiously entering the permitting reform space. Danny emphasized the shift in CCL's approach from playing offense to playing defense, as we now focus on defending a bill that has already been passed. He also noted the change in the balance of power, with Republicans holding a majority in both the Senate and the House, and the importance of understanding this new context for effective Congressional engagement.

This discussion stresses the importance of thinking ahead, preparing for multiple swings of the political pendulum, and maintaining positive relationships with both Democratic and Republican members of Congress. Danny also highlighted the need for volunteer empowerment, focusing on climate issues, and being a science-based organization. He acknowledged the need for uncomfortable trade-offs in addressing climate change and the importance of diverse approaches to achieve change.

Chapters & Timestamps – “Navigating Climate Advocacy in a Changing Political Landscape”

0:00 – Welcome and Learning Goals

Danny lays out the goals: confidence engaging Congress, clarity on CCL’s strategic approach, and understanding how the context has shifted.

0:46 – Why This Training Now?

Overview of CCL’s top priorities in the new Congress:

1. Defending IRA tax credits

2. Advancing the Fix Our Forests Act

3. Supporting foreign pollution fees

2:10 – The Shift to Playing Defense

For the first time, CCL is playing defense—not just pushing new bills.

4:26 – Political Landscape: GOP Control of Congress & Trump Presidency

What unified Republican control means for agenda-setting and strategy.

7:35 – CCL’s Strategy: Long-Term Thinking & Bipartisan Relationships

How we work across Congress configurations and why our bipartisan strategy stands out.

10:55 – Volunteer Empowerment & Staying Focused on Climate

Why keeping meetings focused on climate empowers volunteers and preserves access.

12:56 – The Role of Science & Uncomfortable Trade-Offs

The science tells us we’re in the age of consequences—renewables vs. local impact, etc.

14:12 – Durability & Consistency of CCL’s Impact

Reflections on CCL’s sustained influence and why it matters.

15:02 – Lessons from Past GOP-Controlled Congresses

How CCL passed 3 climate bills during Trump’s first term using respectful engagement.

17:03 – The New MAGA Era: GOP Unity and Behind-the-Scenes Dissent

Differences in today’s Republican Party compared to 2016–2020.

18:10 – Democratic Party Shifts

How Democrats are reassessing messaging post-election (DEI backlash, inflation, media strategy).

21:14 – Engagement Tactics: Segmenting Members of Congress

Approaches vary by chamber and ideology. Use “economy, jobs, and global competition” with Republicans.

26:35 – Conclusions: Strategy & Values Amid a Challenging Context

Empathy, strategy, and staying the course with CCL’s approach.

Tabling Events for Earth Month 2025

CCL hosts a training session on tabling events for Earth Month 2025, highlighting this year's significance and providing actionable recommendations. Participants learn about the new CCL Tabling Toolkit, which aids in organizing these events. Creative strategies, like using origami frogs, are shared to engage families. The session emphasizes public engagement, conversation starters, and art projects to raise climate awareness, while encouraging community involvement in bipartisan climate advocacy.

Data to Defend the Inflation Reduction Act

CCL Research Coordinator Dana Nuccitelli examines the data volunteers can use to advocate for preserving the Inflation Reduction Act. This includes a discussion about the various provisions included in the IRA and the relative importance of each, the political climate in which those provisions find themselves, and a new database of IRA-funded clean energy projects and manufacturing facilities by Congressional District and State that CCL volunteers can use for lobbying and grasstops outreach efforts.

CCL Training: Climate Science Basics

Join CCL Research Coordinator Dana Nuccitelli to learn about the scientific evidence for climate change and answers common questions. Citizens’ Climate’s mission is to create the political will for a livable world, and we won’t stop working until we have a healthy and stable climate.

Skip ahead to the following section(s):
(0:00) Intro & Agenda
(2:04) The Carbon Cycle
(5:51) How Do We Know Humans Are Responsible?
(14:56) How We Know CO2 Is The Cause
(20:48) Climate-Weather Connections
(26:32) Ocean Impacts & Tipping Points
(33:40) What Can We Do About It?

Presentation Slides:  https://cclusa.org/cvtclimatescience 
Training Page: https://community.citizensclimate.org/topics/climate-change-science/basics 

CCL Fall 2024 Lobby Training: Primary Asks and Legislative Plan

Join CCL's Vice President for Government Affairs Ben Pendergrass and CCL Policy Fellow Danny Richter for a training that will review more details and the context for CCL's Fall 2024 Primary and Supporting Asks, as well as guidance for lobby teams as they plan their online meetings. Attendees will have the chance to start strategizing for the upcoming fall lobby meetings, get more information on the meeting asks, and have time to get questions answered by CCL's government affairs team. This is the recommended training for any CCL volunteer planning on being a part of their group's Fall 2024 Lobby Meeting.

Skip ahead to the following time(s):
(0:00) Intro & Agenda
(1:07) Review Of Congress Currently
(3:34) Primary Ask: The Energy Permitting Reform Act
(15:31 ) Secondary Ask
(18:32) Why IRA Repeal Attempt is Likely
(19:24) How The Repeal Could Happen
(24:27) The Co-Primary Ask for Republicans
(28:11) Why This Ask Now and Conclusion

Q&A Discussion is a separate video here: https://vimeo.com/1032393965 

Presentation Slides: https://cclusa.org/lobby-slides 
CCL Community Training Event: https://community.citizensclimate.org/events/item/24/16942 

CCL Training: Hosting A Front Porch Ribbon Cutting

In and around the second anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) this month of August, Rewiring America and Citizens’ Climate Lobby are teaming up to organize Front Porch Ribbon Cuttings! What’s a Front Porch Ribbon Cutting? It's a fun event designed to showcase the impact of the IRA by treating homeowners who've installed clean electric machines with the same pomp and circumstance as a big, new manufacturing facility might get upon opening. We want to cut a ribbon in front of heat pumps, EVs, induction stoves, and heat pump water heaters that have been installed across the country thanks to the IRA.

Skip ahead to the following section(s):
(0:00) Intro & Agenda
(3:35) Welcome & Background
(4:56) Sample Toolkit
(16:48) Press Release Walkthrough
(22:28) Summary

Presentation Slides: https://cclusa.org/front-porch-ribbon-cutting   
Press Release Template: https://community.citizensclimate.org/resources/item/19/359 
Front Porch Ribbon Cutting Planning Toolkit (copy): https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bqBY74_gZAXr3YHcsruD7IdZ6pdBJ4FcTgoWBJAG1l0/copy  

Click to log your training: https://community.citizensclimate.org/log_training?sf_id=a5yUP00000030I1YAI

CCL Training: Transformational Organizing Guide

In CCL, we transform what people think possible for Congress to do on climate, and in the process transform what people think possible for themselves to accomplish. Regardless of the motivation or skills a person brings when they join CCL, we succeed when we help them take the next step as part of our movement: Because empowered volunteers help us reach our big organizational goals. CCL's VP of Programs Brett Cease and Alabama group leader Debbie Chang will host a training that walks volunteers through the Transformational Organizing guide and describe its five pillars to help us strengthen our leadership development and capacity throughout the organization.

Presentation Slides: https://cclusa.org/transformational-organizing-slides 
CCL Resource Page & Guide: https://community.citizensclimate.org/resources/item/19/222  

Skip ahead to the following section(s):
(0:00) Intro & Agenda
(6:18) 1st Pillar: The Pyramid of Engagement
(11:19) 2nd Pillar: The CCL Way
(21:13) 3rd Pillar: The Conditions that Motivate 
(30:39) 4th Pillar: The Elimination of Blame
(37:51) 5th Pillar: The Empowerment of Volunteers