Citizens’ Climate Lobby, which was recently established as a new student organization at Penn, is aiming to establish itself as a powerful force in the fight against climate change at Penn and across Philadelphia.
CCL, a global nonprofit organization with over 500 chapters, is working to build support in Congress for a bipartisan solution to climate change. Penn's chapter is led by College juniors Clara Parker and Emily Roberts, who hope to bring about meaningful change through federal policy advocacy.
Parker told The Daily Pennsylvanian that her involvement in CCL began in high school when she participated in a lobbying call with her senator — an experience that ignited her passion for climate action.
“That experience showed me the impact that legislative advocacy can have in addressing climate change,” Parker said.
She said that her passion has only grown since then, leading her to a summer internship with the Portland, Maine, chapter of CCL. Her positive experience later inspired Roberts to get involved.
One of CCL's climate solutions is the carbon fee and dividend policy. This policy involves taxing fossil fuel companies for the carbon they emit, with the revenue being distributed as monthly checks to American households.
“This policy is the most effective way to cut carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 and ensure a sustainable and livable world for current and future generations," Parker said.
Penn's chapter of CCL is pushing for both local and national action. Their immediate goals include engaging young people in climate advocacy and lobbying the Philadelphia City Council, as well as the Penn administration, for stronger sustainability measures.
“Our goal is to influence not just individual actions, but the large-scale policies that make real differences,” Parker said.
In the long term, Parker told the DP the club plans to lobby Pennsylvania congressmen and travel to Washington to advocate for the carbon fee and dividend policy. This is driven by their belief that environmental policy is essential to solving the climate crisis — describing their primary focus as an organization as "at the federal level by influencing politicians to take large-scale actions.”
Parker said that Penn's CCL chapter has already begun working on several initiatives this semester, such as collaborating with the broader Philadelphia CCL chapter to engage environmental voters and raise awareness ahead of upcoming elections.
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