​California state Senators Bob Wieckowski and Kevin De León introduced a bill in early May that would update the state’s 5-year-old cap and trade system to have some remarkable similarities to CCL’s Carbon Fee and Dividend. The bill would shift cap and trade starting in 2021 to include a steadily rising carbon price, a per capita dividend, and a border adjustment — all key elements of CCL’s proposal. The system is different though in a number of ways. Rather than a carbon tax, the system would be a simplified cap and trade system with a “price collar.” Emitters would no longer be able to use carbon offsets in lieu of purchasing allowances. The state would no longer distribute free emissions allowances, and allowances could not be banked from one year to the next.

This development has two consequences. If California passes this bill, it will probably have significant effects on the cap and trade systems in Quebec and Ontario because they are linked with California. Secondly, it shows a way forward for transforming cap and trade bills to be more like carbon taxes. Why is this important? Chiefly, carbon taxes are simpler and easier to coordinate globally, which is the ultimate goal of pricing dangerous carbon pollution.

Read the full blog here by Tony Sirna, CCL USA’s IT Director and State Level Policy Coordinator.

 
CCL Wellington Conservatives weighed in on climate action as an issue in the ongoing leadership race, as well as why revenue neutral carbon pricing is a win for the climate, economy, and for many voters. Here is how the open letter begins:

In 2017, it is shocking that all but one of our Conservative leadership candidates do not consider climate change and the environment to be important issues for winning the next election – with the lone exception being Michael Chong. We can only conclude that the rest of the candidates either don’t believe in human-caused climate change despite the overwhelming scientific evidence, or don’t think that the issues of climate change and the environment matter to Canadians. Farmers and other rural voters are increasingly concerned with the volatility that comes from a changing climate, so it behooves the Conservative party to seriously address this issue. According to an October 2016 NANOS poll, three-quarters of Canadians are in favour of a national climate plan to ensure we achieve our international carbon emission reduction targets.

Read the full blog here. 

Last week, during their 10th-anniversary celebration, Climate Reality Project Canada had a little surprise for CCL Canada National Manager Cathy Orlando: She was one of two people to receive the Desjardins Group Award for Citizen Engagement on Climate.

Shown in the photo above are Audrey Depault (National Director, Climate Reality Canada), Cathy and Joe Daly (Desjardins General Insurance Group).

Cathy was recognized for her longstanding dedication to the organization and her leadership of Citizens’ Climate Lobby Canada.

In accepting the award, Cathy said, "Circling back to the Climate Reality training in Montreal in 2008, I left that training with a take home message: the politicians need our help. After all, how could a leader and gifted communicator such as Mr. Gore not gain traction on such a solvable issue? We are the ones we have been waiting for. We are winning. We are going to win. Merci, miigwech and thank you."

Congratulations, Cathy!

 
From Earth Day 2017 to Canadian Thanksgiving 2017, Canadian CCLers, in preparation for lobbying on Parliament Hill October 21-24, will be securing signatures for our open letter to businesses and organizations that ask for Canada’s carbon price to go onward and upwards.

The impetus for this action comes from two sources:
1) MPs have asked us to do this for them – get business support.
2) Similar open letters have been helpful in generating political will for carbon pricing in other jurisdictions.

Read the open letter here in English and French. Businesses can sign the Open Letter here. If you want to promote the Open Letter, resources can be found on our resources page under the accordion tab: Open Letter to the Government of Canada / Lettre ouverte au gouvernement du Canada

 
As CCL Canada prepares for its 2017 annual conference, we take a look back at what is at the heart of the work we do. At the heart of our climate crisis is each person’s story. At CCL Canada’s November 2016 conference, Marlo Firme of Vancouver, BC shared a disarmingly honest account of his personal struggle with climate change and how his struggle has changed the way he sees himself and others. Watch Marlo’s 3 minute speech here, which has also been featured in Vancity Buzz.

 
From Saturday, October 21 to Tuesday, October 24, 2017, everyday citizens will gather together in Ottawa and deepen our understanding of the climate crisis, carbon pricing, and related issues. Then we will lobby Parliamentarians for improvements to our national carbon pricing policy that will lead Canada and the world towards a low carbon and prosperous future for everyone.

We have been creating political will since September 2010 in Canada. CCL Canada has some of the best and bravest volunteers on the planet. And we have fun.

Election 2019 is just over two years away. Two days after the Election 2015 a Canadian Senator sent our national director an email with the following message, “You have done so much 'ground work' that can now start to really pay off. I feel that the prospects for climate action are exceptional.” Now is the time to build political will in a non-partisan way in your riding to make sure your community sends climate-friendly politicians back to Ottawa in 2019.

To help promote our 2017 multi-day national conference and lobbying days here are a trifold brochure in pdf and Word, one page poster and postcard image. And please don’t forget the Twitter hashtag: #CCCL2017

Registration opens June 1, 2017. Please bookmark this page.

Do you have friends and family who are concerned about climate change and want to know more about carbon pricing? It is now easy for them to join Citizens' Climate Lobby's mailing list and find out more about us. Just use our new text-to-join function. People can now send a text message (SMS) with the single word Join to the number 619-675-7507 and they will be prompted to share their email address, zip code/postal code, first name, and last name (all are required).

For more info and for printable signs, see our Text to Join page on CCL Community or look on the CCL Canadian Resources page under “Outreach and Tabling. On that page are: Text-to-Join-Color (pdf) , Text-to-Join-Greyscale (pdf) and a Text-to-Join High Quality Image.

Right now is the time to prepare for election 2019. The Conservatives and the NDP are in the midst of selecting new leaders and henceforth developing party platforms. Now is the time to get the rallying cries out such as "price pollution", "$150 by 2030", "polluter pay," "the trend to clean energy is irreversible", "100% possible by 2050","Canada is struggling to catch up in recapturing its share of clean energy business globally" and "Canada has woefully inadequate GHG targets". We need more help and more members to secure a healthy climate for our planet. Given what is happening in the USA with Mr. Trump, Canada has to take the lead now.

Over the next four months, we will be promoting our upcoming Canadian conference and lobbying days in our newsletters. Thus, we would really appreciate your help getting more people in our database to receive our hopeful and truthfull messages.

Merci, miigwech, and thank you for being on the journey with us from me to we!