Jennifer Durgin, Vermont Citizens’ Climate Lobby volunteer

From left to right, Barb Southard, Emmet Pim, John Gage, Mark Dugas, Quinn Dugas, Reid Dugas, Mary Beth Raven, Wharton
Sinkler, and Susan Richman represented the New Hampshire Chapter of Citizens’ Climate Lobby. (Courtesy photos)

In June 2024, 53 volunteers from Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont traveled to Washington, D.C., to urge their senators and representatives to do more to address climate extremes and our overheating planet. They joined 1,000 fellow Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL) volunteers, who held 442 meetings with members of Congress in one day–an impressive amount by any measure.

“As the effects of our addiction to fossil fuels become more apparent with each year’s changing climate, it’s wonderful to see so many volunteers take time out of their busy lives to meet with federal lawmakers,” said Peter Dugas, the New England Regional Director for the nonpartisan nonprofit CCL. “Our volunteers come from all walks of life, but our concerns extend beyond our personal carbon footprints. We want policies that mitigate greenhouse gases across the country and the global economy.”

Unlike the paid lobbyists on Capitol Hill, the volunteer groups consisted of everyday people: including high school students, college students, farmers, engineers, scientists, software developers, city planners, landscapers, parents, grandparents, and teachers. They spoke about how erratic and extreme weather is affecting their communities, local economies, and personal lives. They asked their members of Congress to support several pieces of climate-related legislation that have the best chances of passing.

From left to right, Vermonters Chris Rowe, Judy Davis, Jen Durgin, Jaiel Pulskamp, and Tom Wilson pause for a photo in front of the U.S. Capitol.

The bipartisan, bicameral PROVE IT Act would require the U.S. Department of Energy to study and compare the carbon emissions of products produced in the United States versus other countries. The goal is to use our carbon advantage to reduce emissions through trade; products produced in the U.S. are on average cleaner than the rest of the world.

Volunteers also advocated for climate-smart farming provisions in the Farm Bill, a multi-billion, five-year piece of legislation that is currently being negotiated. Regenerative farming and healthy soils draw tons of carbon out of the atmosphere and help farmers become more resilient to floods, storms, and droughts–and even earn more money.

More broadly, they urged Congressional delegations to work across the aisle on a comprehensive package of clean energy permitting reform so that the U.S. can build clean energy infrastructure as efficiently as possible. More than 95% of new energy projects currently awaiting permits are solar, wind, and battery storage. Building a new electrical transmission line, on average, takes over a decade and solar, wind, and transmission projects are litigated at higher rates than other infrastructure projects. If construction of energy infrastructure continues at this pace, we will not reach the full potential of the Inflation Reduction Act–which CCL successfully lobbied for. That means we will not be able to lower our emissions at the speed and scale necessary to ensure that Americans have affordable and reliable energy in the 21st century.

“We have common-sense climate solutions that can improve our lives by reducing pollution and ensuring we have access to reliable, affordable clean domestic energy, “said John Gage, the CCL volunteer state coordinator for New Hampshire, who also traveled to D.C.

Before their lobby meetings, volunteers attended CCL’s international 2024 Making Moves and Moving Congress Conference, where they heard from inspiring speakers, learned transformational advocacy, and talked with other climate-concerned citizens.

In the coming year, CCL plans to advocate for a carbon fee and dividend system, as outlined in the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 5744). Corporate polluters would pay a fee for every metric ton of carbon dioxide (or carbon dioxide equivalent) that they put into our air. The money collected would then go back to Americans in the form of a monthly “carbon cashback” or dividend payment. More than 3,600 U.S. economists, including four former chairs of the Federal Reserve, agree that a carbon fee (aka. carbon tax) is the most efficient, effective way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. By giving the money back to Americans, studies show that most low- and middle-income households will break even or come out ahead financially.

“Most members of Congress–whether conservative or liberal–appreciate CCL because we are nonpartisan and well-informed about climate legislation,” said Alex Messinger, a CCL volunteer from Vermont who lobbied in D.C. “We always begin relationships by thanking them for some action they have taken, and we listen closely to find potential common ground.” That approach is at the core of CCL’s work.

An April 2024 CBS News poll of 2,230 U.S. adult residents showed that 70% of participants favored the U.S. taking steps to reduce climate change. CBS reported that “views on climate change have long been associated with partisanship, and they still are, but age is a factor, too. Younger Americans, including younger Republicans, are even more likely to say the U.S. needs to take steps to at least try to slow it.”

“My peers and I have grown up with climate anxiety,” said Sadie Ruth, a junior at the University of Vermont who started her school’s chapter of CCL and lobbied in D.C. “We want our representatives to take action, now, so we can have a healthy, livable future.”