Thread by @citizensclimate

With #InflationReductionAct, big climate legislation is now law. It happened, in great part, because of grassroots political will, which CCL provided.

Read the saga of how this miracle happened & CCL's role in this wild roller coaster ride!

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citizensclimatelobby.org/blog/blog/this…

The climate bill that died in 2010 was the product of an “inside the Beltway” process that produced a policy that few people in the general public understood. Support from constituents was lacking, and it was easy for lawmakers to walk away with no fear of repercussions.

This time around, when negotiations went off track several times, lawmakers did not walk away. They knew what this legislation meant to their constituents. They could no longer kick the can down the road and give the people they represent the same old excuse: “It was too hard.”

On April 1, 2021, Rep. Ted Deutch reintroduced the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. Though carbon pricing would not make it into the Inflation Reduction Act, the bill provided a rallying point for CCL members lobbying their members of Congress.

https://twitter.com/citizensclimate/status/1388135868246941699

In July of 2021, Senate Democrats and the White House came to an agreement on a $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill for climate, child care, education, paid leave and health care. However, Senate moderates, most notably Manchin, started raising concerns about the proposal.

CCL held a virtual conference in June, 2021, to train volunteers and prepare them for 357 lobby meetings. The request in meetings with Democratic offices was to ask them to support ambitious climate legislation that would meet the US goal of 50% emissions reductions by 2030.

CCL would continue to beat the drum for climate action as reconciliation got underway in earnest in July 2021. In three weeks’ time, CCL generated more than 50,000 messages to senators to support carbon pricing in reconciliation.

The reconciliation bill began to encounter some headwinds. Coming out of the August recess, Sen. Manchin said Democrats should “hit the pause button” on the Build Back Better Act, saying, “I, for one, won’t support a $3.5 trillion bill."

As the drama was unfolding in Congress, we started to see our climate & carbon pricing message reflected in senators’ own remarks. Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) said, “The thing I’d like more than anything is to get a price on carbon."
coloradonewsline.com/2021/08/31/hic…

News broke in Bloomberg that the Senate Finance Committee was considering a fee on carbon with rebates to households and border adjustments to be included in the reconciliation bill.
facebook.com/watch/?v=33798…

With the expectation that the reconciliation bill could wrap up around the holidays, CCL’s November virtual conference and lobbying days seemed perfectly timed for a final push to get carbon pricing included in the legislation.

On Oct. 15, NYT reported that Manchin told the White House he opposed the Clean Electricity Payment Plan, the centerpiece of Biden’s plan for cutting emissions. Asked if carbon pricing might still be in the mix, Manchin said, “The carbon tax is not on the board at all right now.”

Sen. Whitehouse indicated the door was still open on carbon pricing: “Once we sort out the spending and pay-fors, and then once we know what we need to do for emissions reductions, that’s when the work on a carbon fee begins in earnest.”

The House passed its $2.2 trillion version of Build Back Better on Nov. 19, but in early December, Manchin was calling for a “strategic pause.” On Dec. 19, Manchin pulled the plug on Build Back Better, saying, “I can’t vote for it. I just can’t... I can’t get there.”

Responding, CCL issued a statement in which Madeleine Para said, “When Congress returns in January, CCL will advocate for climate policies to be a centerpiece of whatever reconciliation package continues to be debated, & for inclusion of a carbon price.”

citizensclimatelobby.org/blog/news/ccl-…

As Manchin was mulling over the shape and content of the reconciliation bill, CCL volunteers in West Virginia were circulating video messages urging their senator to take bold action on climate change.

https://twitter.com/citizensclimate/status/1483554019662520322

The crisis in Ukraine called into question the wisdom of enacting policies aimed at driving down the production of fossil fuels. Opponents of climate legislation seized the moment to push for increasing oil and gas from American producers.

CCL’s marketing team then swung into action to push back on this narrative. Using images from WW II posters, they put together a campaign telling Congress and the president to fight Russian President Vladimir Putin by getting America off fossil fuels.citizensclimatelobby.org/ukraine-graphi…

The campaign, coupled with quick action to email Congress and the White House, generated thousands of messages to transition quickly away from oil and gas to take away leverage of petro-autocrats like Putin, helping to keep climate & clean energy action high on Congress’ agenda.

In late April, Manchin explored the possibility of bipartisan climate legislation with a series of meetings between Senate Republicans and Democrats. Of interest to Republicans was the carbon border adjustment mechanism, part of CCL's carbon fee and dividend proposal.

In early June, looking unlikely that 10 Senate Republicans would sign on to climate legislation, the bipartisan meetings ended. Manchin turned his attention to one-on-one meetings with Majority Leader Schumer to craft a reconciliation bill.

As negotiations continued, CCL...

▶️ Held an interfaith climate conference in West Virginia
▶️ Published an op-ed in WVa urging Manchin to make a deal on climate
▶️ Held national conference in DC followed by lobby meetings urging climate action in reconciliation

Crushing news:

On July 14, Manchin said he couldn’t support the climate provisions and tax increases in the reconciliation bill over fears that additional spending would add to inflation, which hit 9.1% during the month of June.

Some senators, however, did not throw in the towel. Democratic colleagues, climate champions CCL has engaged and supported for years, intervened with Manchin and convinced him climate spending would not make inflation worse.

WashPost reports:

Coons told Manchin: “I can’t think of a better way for you to prove them all wrong than to sign off on a bold climate deal. Prove every critic wrong.”

Manchin: “It would be like hitting a homer in the bottom of the ninth, wouldn’t it?”
washingtonpost.com/us-policy/2022…

On July 27, Schumer & Manchin shocked everyone with the announcement that they had reached an agreement on a reconciliation bill that contained $369 billion in tax credits and other incentives to address climate change. The last-minute intervention had succeeded.

Unlike the failed attempt at climate legislation in 2010, there were Senators who refused to walk away this time. But why? What inspired and motivated them to press on in a situation most others thought was hopeless?

A big element — lacking in 2010 — was the grassroots political will generated by constituents engaging those who represent them in Washington. Because of that engagement, senators made promises to solve the climate crisis, and they were determined not to break those promises.

CCL came darn close to achieving our goal of a carbon fee with payments to households. We'll keep pushing, as more will be needed to achieve the US goals on emissions reductions.

This thread is just the bare bones of the incredible saga to get climate legislation passed. Get the full story in our blog post:
citizensclimatelobby.org/blog/blog/this…