Opinion: Why we’re continuing to press Congress for bipartisan climate solutions
Opinion polling over many years consistently shows that a majority of Americans are concerned and even alarmed about climate change, but they don’t know where to turn to take action. Although a concerted national effort is clearly called for, the federal government is the last place most people expect real solutions to come from, given the dysfunction we currently see in Congress. Understandably, many climate advocates are focusing their efforts elsewhere.
State and local solutions are essential, especially in Alaska where we lack any electric transmission connecting us to other states. But Alaska’s energy economy isn’t isolated from the Lower 48’s, and federal policies affect us like everyone else. To shift those policies to better benefit Alaskans, and to reduce U.S. carbon emissions overall, we’re going to need major new legislation at the federal level. To make that happen, there’s simply no avoiding working with Congress, and that’s what Citizens’ Climate Lobby has been doing for the past 18 years.
Being a citizen lobbyist isn’t difficult, especially when you have an organization with CCL’s experience to show you how. CCL helps volunteers grow their personal political power, through training on building up relationships with their individual senators and representatives. We have almost a quarter million members who have started chapters in nearly every congressional district in the country, and we meet with our congressional offices as often as possible. With the help of CCL’s expert national staff, volunteers learn about the climate, economic, and national security impacts of proposed legislation, and we prepare in-depth for meetings. It takes time, but the payoff is that we are heard.
That doesn’t mean our recommendation is always followed, nor do we expect it to be. Congress includes members with widely varying views on climate and energy, and we talk to all of them. Even for members of Congress who currently oppose our positions, it’s better for them to hear from voters who support real climate solutions than not to hear from us, and it’s better still if those voters are well-informed, well-prepared local folks they’ve seen before.
We’re confident that CCL’s advocacy brings results. For example, we lobbied for the clean energy tax credits that Congress passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, the strongest action the U.S. has ever taken to lower carbon emissions. Other measures that CCL has helped move toward passage include bipartisan bills to reduce the climate impacts of agriculture and forestry, improve battery technology, and upgrade the national electric grid.
Of course, our dedication to working with Congress makes it all the more disappointing to us when bills we support don’t pass. And it’s going to be especially heartbreaking to see those clean energy tax credits in the IRA phased out under the recent budget reconciliation bill.
But that disappointment didn’t stop CCL from thanking Sen. Lisa Murkowski for her work to extend the timing of those phase-outs in the final legislation, as well as to advance clean energy during her time as co-chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. At CCL, we don’t let ourselves get hung up on a single senator or representative’s vote on a single bill. We take wins when we can get them, and we look for new ways to move forward after a loss. Our focus is always on solutions.
It’s easy to want to throw up your hands and walk away when Congress seems determined to wipe out any recent progress toward reducing emissions. However, in CCL we believe that you work with the Congress that you have, not wait for the Congress that you wish you had.
The 850 CCL members who were in Washington, DC, in July for the annual conference and lobby day came home buoyed by the camaraderie we enjoyed, as well as by the productive conversations we had in our congressional offices. We’re following up with the staffers we talked to, sending them answers to any questions that came up.
CCL’s approach isn’t flashy. We’re not out to grab headlines by engaging in radical tactics aimed at simply drawing attention to the urgency of the climate crisis. Of course, there are many ways to exert political pressure, and they can all play a role. But where we want to focus attention is on the pragmatic steps Congress must take today to shift our national economy to more affordable and cleaner energy systems. If that approach appeals to you, we hope you’ll join us — even if, especially at this moment, our dogged pursuit of bipartisan congressional legislation might seem like the most radical, out-there idea of all.
The authors are volunteer members of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby chapters in Anchorage and Fairbanks.
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