Powerful insights from the folks who want a price on carbon
A price on carbon may be the most effective way to dial down the intensity of global warming.
Indeed, the EN-Roads climate change simulator shows that a carbon tax alone could prevent the world from warming by a full one-degree Celsius by 2100.
The experience of Australia’s short-lived tax offers a compelling proof-point for its effectiveness at lowering emissions.
Impact of Australia’s carbon tax on emissions
Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL) stands at the vanguard of carbon pricing. They’ve built a small army of tens of thousands of volunteers who diligently lobby congress.
Their proposal, the Energy Innovation Act, would tax carbon and give the revenue back to Americans as a monthly dividend.
If passed, their bill would allow many of the innovators in Bright Green Future to thrive and scale in an unprecedented way.
I spoke with CCL’s local leaders on the insights they’ve picked up in this Herculean task to pass sweeping legislation in a divided nation.
1. Power of lobbying through listening
The stereotype of a lobbyist is someone who forcefully pushes their agenda on politicians in backroom deals. But that’s not how CCL approaches the craft.
“I always thought that to be a good lobbyist you had to be a slick talker,” says Max Broad of CCL Washington DC. “It’s actually more important to listen. To instead ask questions and first learn what matters to your congress people.”
2. Power of being an engaged constituent
Don’t underestimate the hidden power that you have just by being a constituent.
“As a constituent you’re a more important voice than even an expert,” says Ren Englem of CCL Baltimore. “Congress people want to hear from their constituents. The fossil-fuel industry may bring in a ‘fancy schmancy’ business person, but ultimately reps want to know what their voters care about.”
3. Power of justice
More than any other issue, climate change highlights inequities in how it affects disadvantaged communities.
“We need environmental justice work at the ground level,” says Nicole Hammond of CCL Louisiana. “Our bill addresses the overall policy at the federal level, but we need multiple approaches to climate change.” CCL members say that low income folks would overwhelmingly benefit more from the dividend than be affected by the tax. Nicole urges the need to actively listen to the concerns and visions of people of color in frontline communities who are most impacted by pollution, climate change, and environmental degradation.
4. Power of community support
Building a base of support in the local community is crucial to getting politicians to take any proposal seriously.
When he initially lobbied his representative, Doug Bell and three other members of CCL Cincinnati were given just 15 minutes to make their case. He described it as “a shut up and go away meeting.” The congress-person’s reception quickly changed when they showed up with 47 endorsements from local businesses including a large steel mill. The meeting ended up being 45 minutes, and today their chapter meets with that rep twice a year.
5. Power of ingenuity
While lobbying congress, many CCL members bring their personal expertise as innovators and experts to the table.
In addition to co-leading the CCL Boston chapter, Matt Vernacchia works for a company that uses nuclear fusion to replicate the sun. At Commonwealth Fusion Systems, “we use magnets to confine a piece of plasma that’s as hot as the core of the sun – one-million degrees Celsius.” A layer of heat absorbing material will then capture this energy to turn a turbine and generate power. Stay tuned!
6. Turning dread into something good
Almost every person I spoke with described CCL as an outlet for turning their climate anxiety into action.
“The more I read about climate change, the more existential stress I felt,” says Tim Ely. “Where do I sign up to do something about it? That’s when I found my CCL chapter in St. Louis.” CCL offers a way for anyone to work on a market-changing policy that could rapidly reduce carbon emissions.
7. Elegance in simplicity
CCL’s proposed legislation, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, benefits from its simplicity. By taxing a single gas, the policy would completely reshape the incentives baked into our economy.
“It’s an elegant way to get a lot done at once,” says economist Betsy Fadali of CCL Reno. “I like the carbon tax part as an economist because you get the whole economy working together to reduce emissions. The dividend part is extremely valuable because you need to get buy-in from the majority of society. Middle-class and low income folks would get monthly checks over the decades of transition to a carbon-free economy.”
8. Bio-based economy
Phasing out fossil fuels is only part of moving to a fully sustainable economy.
“There are 7.5 billion of us that still use resources and they have to come from somewhere,” says David Atkins, a forester and volunteer with CCL Missoula. His motto is, “If you don’t grow it, you mine it.” He hopes that bio-refineries can replace oil-refineries to create many of our common materials, which would become more biodegradable. “Anything you can make out of petroleum you can make out of biomass. I used to run a national program in DC focused on using waste wood, with the budding bio-based chemical industry as one option.”
9. Limits of the EPA
The power of our government to protect the environment is only as strong as its legislation.
“Environmental Protection Agency is a bit of a misnomer,” says Alan Leiserson of CCL Nashville, a retired lawyer from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. “It should be the Environmental Statute Agency. It doesn't look at the environment in a holistic way, and how to protect it. It can only do what it's authorized to do by legislation that’s been passed.” He got into lobbying after realizing the limits of his own agency.
10. Beyond carbon pricing
Though CCL chapters have a laser-like focus on advancing a single federal policy, some groups have broadened their scope to include regional and local initiatives.
“We’re realizing that we need to get something done in the near term,” says Cindy Kirsch of CCL Pittsburgh. Her chapter supported the Reclaim Act, which helps transition coal miners in Pennsylvania. They also helped with a community solar bill passed in their state. More chapters have advanced regional carbon pricing and other initiatives.
11. Fostering vibrant chapters
Highly engaged members are the foundation of any successful movement. You can have hundreds of chapters and huge email lists, but without an active base there’s not much you can do.
That’s why Jean Ritok of CCL Raleigh-Durham used her skills as a coach to create and lead a course that empowers chapter leaders. This free, intensive course for CCL members meets one hour a week for six months. Participants create a project for their own chapter while learning new organizing tools. The class is now in its fourth cohort, as it expands the capacities of new and existing leaders.
12. Group as spiritual circle
What sustains a massive movement powered mostly by unpaid volunteers?
For Daniela Brod of CCL Portland, she feels sustained by a spiritual connection created through collective action. “It’s about collaborating with a greater institution. It’s about giving back and being part of something that’s bigger than us. I see it as my own way of giving tithe.” If anything, CCL is a giant exercise in civics, which itself could be considered a distinctly American spiritual experience.
13. Walking the middle path
Carbon pricing exists in a political middle-ground between partisan crossfire.
“We take a non-confrontational approach,” says Marc Peterson of CCL Salt Lake City. “We want to have a polite conversation with both the left and the right. I think that approach makes a lot of sense rather than being highly polarized and sitting on the other side yelling at each other.”
14. Leftist pushback
Though their base of support tends to fall in the center left, some members have found moderate Republicans to be more receptive than the far left.
“Our reps in Portland haven’t cosponsored because they’re so far left and don’t feel comfortable with a market-based solution,” says Daniela Brod. “I feel more hopeful about Oregon Republicans in rural parts because they’re facing the threat of growing droughts and forest fires.”
15. Ice cracking under the right
Republicans may engage in a civil conversation about centrist climate policy, but that doesn’t mean they’ll endorse it.
“For Republicans, it often seems like they're walking on an ice covered pond,” says Doug Bell. “They take a couple of steps towards a carbon tax and then stop to hear if the ice cracked.”
Moreover, as Marc Peterson points out, “Part of being a conservative is not wanting things to change. And by definition we’re talking about change.”
But like it or not, things are changing both in the climate and within their own party. Seventy five percent of republicans under 40 now say they’re concerned about climate change.
As the ice melts beneath the reluctant ones, perhaps their delicate tiptoe may become a sprint. Roger James Kuhns of CCL Mystic put it simply. “If you are worried about losing your job for doing the right thing, then you shouldn’t be representing the people.”
Are you interested in a price on carbon? Learn more about CCL’s approach to climate solutions. There’s likely a chapter near you.
