Ready for the June conference!

The 2023 Climate Lobbying Reboot

CCL's D.C. Conference

June 10-13, 2023

With less than two weeks until CCL's conference and lobby day (June 10-13), we're excited to report that nearly a thousand climate advocates will converge on our nation's capital to connect with each other, learn new skills and policies, and make their voices heard on Capitol Hill in support of climate solutions. It's the first in-person lobbying since the pandemic.

Our two main "asks" of legislators are to cosponsor the Energy Innovation Act when it's reintroduced -- we're told it will be soon -- and to focus on clean energy permitting reform so that the clean electrons being promoted by the IRA can find their way to users over our antiquated grid. Here are the details of both primary and secondary asks. Take a look to understand the depth and complexity of this lobby event.

Not going to D.C.? Live Stream the conference.

Details here

You can see the conference agenda including session titles, times, descriptions, and speakers on the conference website: cclusa.org/program. On each day of the conference, the specific Zoom connection information will be available on the website. "Join via Zoom" buttons will appear next to each session that will be streamed.

There will be no Marin CCL call in June.

Instead, tune into the

National Call with Bill McKibben

Saturday, June 10 at 10:00 PT

cclusa.org/meeting

Bill hardly needs an introduction to climate advocates. He's dedicated his life to fighting for climate sanity for the past several decades and will address CCL the day before the DC conference begins. He's the founder of 350.org (350 being the atmospheric concentration of CO2 considered safe -- it's now over 420 parts per million) and writes regular climate essays in The New Yorker.

Lest you have any doubts about the need for an effective carbon fee, even in light of the historic Inflation Reduction Act, watch this compelling presentation by Jonathan Marshall, former economics editor at the S.F. Chronicle and Marin CCL member. Stream it here.

Drastic climate action is the best course for economic growth

By Dana Nuccitelli, CCL Research Coordinator

The best path for the global economy involves a rapid and dramatic cut in carbon pollution to meet the ambitious Paris target of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial temperatures — a target quickly slipping out of reach.

Achieving such rapid decarbonization would require climate policies commensurate with a global carbon price of about $250 per ton of carbon dioxide today but declining to below $40 per ton in 2100 as the prices for clean technology come down.

Many investors put money in bonds despite their lower returns than stocks because bonds are less risky. This is analogous to investing in decarbonization today to reduce long-term risks, rather than trying to accumulate wealth in the hopes that it can pay for the costs of potentially catastrophic future climate damages. 

Read the article.

Cutting the red tape for cleaner energy:

The pros and cons of permitting reform

Cutting through the bureaucratic red tape around energy and transmission projects is essential to reaching the Biden administration’s goal of permitting 25 gigawatts or more of wind, solar, and other renewable energy projects on federal land by 2025. But many fear that permitting reform will undermine environmental laws that were enacted to protect the country’s natural and cultural resources and reduce needed regulation of fossil fuel projects.

Is permitting reform worth the risk to meet the country’s ambitious climate goals, or can other solutions hasten renewable energy development but leave the country’s bedrock environmental laws intact? Six experts share their views here.

Start with climate scientist Andrew Dessler's essay.

DO NOT MISS THIS SERIES!

Stream it here.

Wondering why emissions keep rising despite all the data screaming "hit the brakes?" Denial, Doubt and Delay -- that was yesterday. Now it's Deception, Distraction, Disinformation and Doomism. Don't buy it. After watching this series, watch the August 30 Book Passage event with Dr. Michael Mann and Rep. Jared Huffman discussing The New Climate War. 

‘Worthless’: Chevron’s carbon offsets are mostly junk and some may harm

A new investigation into Chevron’s climate pledge has found the fossil-fuel company relies on “junk” carbon offsets and “unviable” technologies, which do little to offset its vast greenhouse gas emissions and in some cases may actually be causing communities harm.

Chevron, which reported $35bn in profits last year, is the second-largest US fossil fuel company, with operations stretching from Canada and Brazil to the UK, Nigeria and Australia.

Despite major expansions in five continents, Chevron has said that it “aspires” to achieve net zero upstream emissions by 2050. To do this, it is mostly relying on carbon offset schemes – environmental projects meant to cancel out its greenhouse gas emissions – and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies.

New research by Corporate Accountability, a non-profit, transnational corporate watchdog, found that 93% of the offsets Chevron bought and counted towards its climate targets from voluntary carbon markets between 2020 and 2022 were too environmentally problematic to be classified as anything other than worthless or junk.

The Guardian

May 24, 2023



More than two dozen cities and states are suing Big Oil over climate change – they just got a boost from the US Supreme Court

Local and state governments, including Marin County, are suing to hold the major oil companies responsible for the costs of disasters that scientists are increasingly able to attribute to climate disruption and tie back to the fossil fuel industry. Several of the plaintiffs accuse the companies of lying to the public about their products’ risks in violation of state or local consumer protection laws that prohibit false advertising.

Read this detailed analysis of a complex legal situation:

The Conversation

Unsurprising, but bad news:

Insurance giant halts sale of new home policies in California due to wildfires

The insurance giant State Farm, America’s biggest car and home insurer by premium volume, will halt the sale of new home insurance policies in California, citing wildfire risk and inflation of construction costs.

Starting on Saturday, May 27, 2023 the company will not accept insurance applications for business and personal property and casualty insurance. The company will still accept auto insurance applicants.

“State Farm General Insurance Company made this decision due to historic increases in construction costs outpacing inflation, rapidly growing catastrophe exposure, and a challenging reinsurance market."

The Guardian

May 27, 2023

Local Opportunities

Tabling at the Fairfax Festival, June 10 and 11

July 4th Woodacre parade

It's fun! If you wish to participate, contact [email protected]

Sushi, Ahi, or Well Done?

You're invited, but...

This is how one behaves inside The Capitol:

Make an appointment. Business attire recommended. Bring nothing that even looks like a weapon.

Prepared by Peter G. Joseph, M.D. 

[email protected]

Apologies for cross postings

If you know someone who would like to be added to this distribution list, please have them join CCL.