Citizens' Climate Lobby

The Levers of Political Will

From our interactions with members of Congress, and from interviews with people who study Congress, we have developed a deep understanding of what creates political will and what does not. 

Here’s why that’s important: We only ask CCL volunteers to do things that we know will have a very good chance of generating political will. Specifically, we take actions that we know will be successful in having members of Congress move in the direction of our legislation.

These are the five core activities that all Citizens’ Climate Lobby chapters leverage to bring citizens into the political process and to ensure their contribution is constructive and makes more good possible. We call these activities the “levers of political will.”

Legislative Update - Steps to Passage and the State of Congress

CCL's Legislative Director Danny Richter reviews a timeline of what needs to happen before and after the introduction of Carbon Fee and Dividend and the current status of Democrats and Republicans.

CCL Training: Communicating With Conservatives

Join CCL Conservative Outreach Fellow Kelsey Grant for a training on Communicating with conservatives regarding the Energy Innovation & Carbon Dividend Act. Kelsey will review conservative messaging on climate change and highlight the conservative support aligning with key messages and underlying components, connecting how the bill aligns with conservative values.

Skip ahead to the following section(s):

• Jonathan Haidt & Moral Foundation Theory (4:41)
• In-Group Loyalty vs. Betrayal (9:36)
• Authority & Purity/Sanctity (18:10)
• Values & The Energy Innovation Act (24:27)
• Effective Communication Example (33:36)

Presentation Slides: cclusa.org/cvt-conservatives
Conservative Quote Cards: cclusa.org/conservative-quote-cards
CCL Community Training Page: community.citizensclimate.org/topics/communicating-across-the-aisle/conservatives

Conference and Lobby Day Logistics

If you've got questions about the June 2016 CCE/CCL Conference and Lobby Day, then we've got the answers. Join CCE' s Director of Operations Amy Bennett and Director of Member Relations Susan Higgins as they review the 5 W's (Who? What? When? Where? and Why?) for the upcoming conference and lobby day.

Leading a lobby meeting

This podcast lesson is for those who wish to learn more about leading a lobby meeting with a member of Congress or staff. Citizens' Climate Education's Program Director Madeleine Para and California Coordinator Tasha Reddy review the role of a lobby leader, how to assign team roles, coordinating practice times and how to handle other special situations.

Lobbying 401 - Advanced Lobbying Skills

In this lesson, Citizens' Climate Education's Executive Director Mark Reynolds and Strategic Partnerships Coordinator Andy Beahrs discuss handling stressful lobby situations, listening for values, and how to move people past their misconceptions.

Lobbying 301 - The Lobby Meeting

The third of our four-part lobbying series focuses on the actual lobby meeting. Using role play, we demonstrate two meetings scenarios before reviewing other important meeting elements like supporting asks and listening for and connecting on shared values. 

Lobbying 201 - Preparing for a lobby meeting

This Citizens' Climate University audio lesson covers how to prepare for a meeting with a member of Congress, including researching your member of Congress, assigning meeting roles and the power of practice.

Lobbying 101

This is the first in a series of four lobby training podcasts. In Lobbying 101, we review the basics of the U.S. Congress, discuss what it’s like to be a citizen lobbyist and demonstrate how citizens can build meaningful, long-term relationships with a congressional office. 

The Household Impacts Study Update

In this update to the original Household Impacts Study lesson, CCL's Science and Legislative Director Danny Richter discusses the datasets used to fine tune the results and the resulting updated charts. The Household Impacts study estimates the impact our policy would have zip code by zip code, congressional district by congressional district, state by state, and for the nation as a whole. It breaks down what % of constituents in each geographic unit end up ahead by economic quintile, by race, and by various other useful distinctions.