Citizens' Climate Lobby

Lobby Meeting Analysis

Legislative and Research Director Danny Richter presents his analysis of the 502 meetings with members of Congress or their staff in June of 2016.

Bringing New Volunteers Onboard

This CCU lesson will offer tips and suggestions, and invite you to share your experience, ask questions and consider new strategies for engaging new people so that they acquire the necessary knowledge, skills, and behaviors to become effective CCL volunteers.

NOTE: This CCU lesson is largely in response to the influx of new volunteers CCL experienced in November of 2016. However, the content and strategies are applicable today. 

Climate Advocate Training - Lesson Two

Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL) Director of Operations Amy Bennett and Regional Coordinator Brett Cease welcome you to CCL. In this two-part series, you'll learn the basics of becoming an effective climate advocate.

In Lesson Two, Amy and Brett discuss finding common ground and shared values, understanding CCL's methodology and how it led to breakthroughs in Congress, preparing for and participating in a lobby meeting and explaining our proposal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions: Carbon Fee and Dividend.

Chapter Development Basics [Core Volunteer Training]

CCL chapters form the backbone of the CCL organization. People from all walks of life who understand the urgency of climate change have started local CCL chapters across the world. This training, led by CCL's Education and Resilience Coordinator Tamara Staton, highlights recommendations and resources to help get a new CCL chapter up and running as well as the chance to hear from CCL group leaders about their experiences organizing their groups.

Skip ahead to the following section(s):
(0:00) Intro & Agenda 
(3:01) Leadership Potential
(4:24) Starting A Chapter
(16:36) Growing A Chapter
(28:20) Running A Chapter

Presentation Slides: https://cclusa.org/cvt-chapter-development

Chapter Development Basics: https://community.citizensclimate.org/topics/group-organizing-and-mentoring/chapter-development 

Creating Champions in Congress and in the Media

It seems to happen all the time. A volunteer advocate from any organization will say, “My member of Congress is so good I don’t need to meet with her,” or “My member of Congress is so bad, meeting with him is a waste of time.”

Say what???

In this interactive webinar, Sam Daley-Harris will begin by interviewing CCL Senior Congressional Liaison Jay Butera on how he enrolled a Republican and Democrat to create the House Climate Solutions Caucus. Then Sam will help participants determine where their members of Congress are on the champion scale and on how to move opponents to neutral, those who are neutral to supporter, supporters to advocates, advocates to leaders and spokespersons, and leaders and spokespersons to being champions. Join us to find out where your members of Congress are on the champion scale and how to move them to the next level.

Getting Endorsements to Create Political Will

Like lobbying, securing endorsements and/or Leader's Letters for Carbon Fee and Dividend or climate action from community leaders starts with building relationships. In this lesson, we’ll not only review how to initiate and cultivate those relationships but also hear from CCL volunteers who will share best practices and key learnings as well as how to coordinate your actions locally.

Climate Geopolitics

Climate change influences nearly every element of the geopolitical landscape, including human sustenance, international resource flows, and the viability of the civil state. The Paris Agreement brings all 195 nations that are parties to the 1992 UN Climate Convention into an active role in combatting climate change. It adds new principles to international law—like adherence to intergenerational equity and coherence of policy direction in decarbonization.

Ultimately, solving the climate challenge will mean building much more inclusive and participatory societies the world over and standardizing climate-smart business practices to the point where the entire global financial sector is actively driving solutions through the everyday economy. We are now beginning to see concrete pathways to that smarter, more secure, and prosperous human future, because we are designing them. Learn how carbon pricing collaboration, innovative global governance strategies, and new modes of citizen engagement are bringing us closer to a genuinely ambitious global climate response.

In this podcast, CCL’s Global Outreach Coordinator Joe Robertson will cover the scope and status of climate geopolitics, in relation to the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals, and related procedural and peace and security issues.

 Register for the Webinar

Partnering with Allies and Non-Governmental Organizations

There are a wide variety of organizations out there working on a wide variety of environmental causes.

In this lesson, CCL's Senior Outreach Liasion Stephanie Doyle explores how to engage with other organizations in a respectful, understanding and productive way. 

Creating an editorial board meeting binder

The creation of a binder of resources for an editorial board is optional but highly recommended. Newspaper editorial board staff may appreciate having information on CCL and climate change to review after a meeting.

Preparing and presenting a binder is one way to show the editorial board that CCL can be a resource to them on the issue of climate change. We want to be their “go to” people for information, letters to the editor and op-eds.

Post-election editorial board meetings

Following the November 2016 elections, CCL volunteers have a unique opportunity to meet with newspaper editorial boards and ask for their support for congressional action in the 115th Congress. This webinar details how you and/or your group can prepare for, structure and facilitate the meeting.