Our Accomplishments
Our Accomplishments
Behind our accomplishments are 200,000+ grassroots volunteers: organized, persistent and ready to roll
We're helping Congress feel the heat for climate action.
On Earth Day, 2021, the President announced a big goal: to reduce America’s carbon emissions 50% by 2030. CCL is holding every elected official to this target, from local council representatives all the way up to the White House.
In 2022, we lobbied for the biggest climate bill in U.S. history
Our volunteers meet regularly with their members of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, to ask them to take action on climate change and support specific solutions that will make a meaningful difference.
We had our biggest win yet when Congress took a huge step forward on climate change by passing the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law in 2022.
The Inflation Reduction Act is a result of the partisan budget reconciliation process in Congress, where only a majority of the Senate needs to vote “yes” to pass a series of budget-related policies. CCLers began pushing for big climate policies in 2021 when Congress began this process. The persistent work of CCLers over 18 months paved the way for the official Inflation Reduction Act bill, formally introduced in July 2022.
The Inflation Reduction Act is the biggest climate bill in American history. It combines investments, fees and tax credits to increase the speed at which America adopts clean energy and electric vehicles, providing major wins for the climate, Americans, and cities and towns across the country. These policies are the result of months of compromises among Democrats.
If any volunteers can claim a hand in the passage of this bill, it’s CCLers. From August 2021 to August 2022, our volunteers:
Made 168,000 calls and emailsto Congress and President Biden
Reached 4.5 million peoplein targeted states through text and phone banking
Published 1,300 letters to the editor & op-edsin local media across the country
Thanks in large part to these efforts, America is set to cut its carbon emissions 40% by 2030. The Inflation Reduction Act doesn’t get all the way to the official goal of 50% reduction by 2030, but it gets the ball within striking distance.
We always prefer climate legislation that can endure (who doesn’t?), so we’re still focused on building bipartisan support that will get us all the way over the finish line to 50% by 2030 and net zero by 2050.
CCL is a trusted partner in Congress
Accelerating the adoption of a price on carbon
Now that the Inflation Reduction Act has moved the needle, putting the ball within striking distance, it’s time to score the goal. Carbon pricing is the best possible policy to get us the rest of the way to America’s target of 50% emissions reduction by 2030.
We have always been a strong supporter of a price on carbon in the United States. Before the Inflation Reduction Act, CCL’s main focus was the passage of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (EICDA), the first bipartisan carbon pricing bill introduced in Congress in over a decade. In the current Congress, it’s called H.R. 2307.
The Energy Innovation Act calls for a carbon fee & dividend policy that will reduce carbon emissions quickly and give a monthly cash payment to Americans. Our grassroots volunteers worked tirelessly to support the EICDA.
The current Congress is ending without passing the EICDA, but after collecting over 95 committed cosponsors and more than 1500 pro-EICDA endorsements, we’re optimistic about its future. No matter the fate of the bill, CCL remains a vocal (and very loud) supporter of carbon pricing.
95+
cosponsors
1500+
endorsements
Bipartisan Climate Wins
We LOVE bipartisanship. In fact, we love it so much that we helped form the Climate Solutions Caucuses in both the House and Senate. The caucuses give both parties a chance to get together to discuss climate issues and lay the groundwork for potential new policies.
While CCL’s big focus over the past year has been the IRA, our amazing volunteers have also worked to pass other national climate bills with bipartisan support over the years. The following bills were signed into law or passed at least one chamber of Congress.
CCL volunteers helped attract over 40 bipartisan cosponsors for the Growing Climate Solutions Act in 2021. CCL has long supported this bill because it would complement carbon pricing with its climate-smart farming mechanisms. The Growing Climate Solutions Act was included in the omnibus package in Dec. 2022.
The Hope for Homes Act was one of CCL’s supporting asks in our June 2021 lobby meetings and throughout the summer. This bipartisan legislation was designed to cut energy costs for homeowners, while also investing in clean energy jobs and technology. This secondary ask passed the House as part of the Build Back Better Act and key provisions were included in the Inflation Reduction Act, including funding for the Home Energy Savings Rebate program.
The SCALE Act was one of CCL’s supporting asks in our June 2021 lobby meetings and in the weeks that followed. The SCALE Act was created to help develop carbon capture and storage (CCS) infrastructure as a way of reducing carbon dioxide emissions while creating regional economic opportunities and jobs. This secondary ask was included in the bipartisan infrastructure law passed by both chambers of Congress in November 2021. President Biden signed the bill into law on Nov. 15, 2021.
Just before heading home for the 2020 holidays, the U.S. House and Senate passed a massive omnibus package. The package, which includes COVID relief and government funding, was one of “the most significant energy legislation in more than a dozen years,” according to Politico. Politico went on to call the USE IT Act “a top priority of outgoing Environment and Public Works Chair John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) that would boost carbon capture and direct air capture technologies.” CCL volunteers had lobbied on this legislation since June of 2019, and it gained cosponsors after our lobbying pushes.
In July of 2020, CCL volunteers helped add dozens of new cosponsors onto the Better Energy Storage and Technology (BEST) Act in just one week. CCL volunteers encouraged 24 Republican and Democrat members of Congress to support the act, which provides research and development for grid-scale energy storage systems and authorizes demonstration projects for new energy storage technologies. Such technology is viewed as essential to the deployment of solar and wind energy. The BEST Act was then included in the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act and passed in the House on Sept. 24, 2020. It was ultimately included in the omnibus package passed by the House and Senate at the end of 2020.
CCL volunteers also advocated for the Climate-Ready Fisheries Act in June of 2020 — resulting in 10 additional cosponsors after our lobby days. Provisions from this legislation were included in in the report accompanying the omnibus package as well. The package requires a report to be prepared outlining efforts to adapt our nation’s fisheries to the impacts of climate change.
The RECLAIM Act had been a secondary ask during CCL lobby meetings since July of 2019. This legislation would fast-track $1 billion in funding to clean up abandoned coal mines, creating thousands of jobs in the process. The bill was reintroduced in the 116th Congress in April of 2019 and accumulated 65 cosponsors, including 14 Republicans. A Senate version of the bill was introduced by Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-WV).
We’re implementing climate policy state by state
Our U.S. chapters make waves at the state and local levels in support of clean energy and decarbonization. Over the past five years, our volunteers have successfully lobbied for the following state-level legislation.
CCLers help pass ambitious climate legislation in New York state
The Climate Leadership and Communities Protections Act (2019) commits to 100% clean energy by 2040, and an 85% emissions reduction by 2050 in New York state.
Maryland passes major renewable energy bill
The Clean Energy Jobs Act (2019) requires Maryland to get at least half of its energy from renewable sources by 2030 with a goal of 100% by 2040.
Colorado passes major decarbonization law
The Climate Action Plan (2019) is set to cut carbon pollution at least 26% by 2025, 50% by 2030, and 90% by 2050 compared to 2005 levels. The law works to decarbonize Colorado’s economy with a roadmap that includes a transition to renewable energy and reduction in methane pollution
D.C. passes strong clean energy bill with price on carbon
After a multi-year, grassroots-led campaign, the Washington, D.C., City Council passed The Clean Energy D.C. Act of 2018. The law is concrete, binding, and specific, set to reduce the city’s emissions 44% by 2032 by putting a small price on carbon.
Other notable legislation
Passed
Massachusetts – Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy (2021)
Proposed
Utah – HJR3 and SB187 to enact a carbon fee and dividend (2021)
Hawaii – SB 3150 to enact a carbon price (2021)