The International Conference Call Starts at 10:00 Am PT/1:00 Pm ET

CCL Monthly Conference Call, Saturday, June 7, 2014

Groups meet at 9:45am PT/12:45pm ET The international conference call starts at 10:00 am PT/1:00 pm ET The conference call part of the meeting is a little over an hour long and the groups meet for another hour after that to take and plan actions.

Call-in number: 1-866-642-1665, passcode: 440699# Callers outside U.S. and Canada, please use Skype: 719-387-8317, passcode 440699#

Guest is Anthony Leiserowitz, Yale Project on Climate Change Communication As we prepare for meetings in Washington, we thought it would be a good time to check in with Tony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication. He is an expert on American and international public opinion on global warming, including public perception of climate change risks, support and opposition for climate policies, and willingness to make individual behavioral change.

Actions

1. Write letters to members of Congress about the REMI report. 2. Invite people and organizations to call congressional offices on June 23 to express support for revenue-neutral carbon tax or climate change solutions. 3. Discuss and determine a specific secondary ask for your members of Congress. LASER TALK A carbon tax that adds jobs

We can reduce greenhouse gas emissions AND add jobs to the economy with a carbon tax that gives revenue back to households.

That’s the finding of a study done by Regional Economic Models, Inc. They looked at a tax of $10 per ton on the carbon dioxide content of fossil fuels, going up $10 a ton each year. Revenue from the tax would be given back to households in equal shares for each adult, and one half share for each child, up to 2 children per household. According to REMI’s economic models, the tax would:

. Reduce CO2 emissions by 33 percent after 10 years, 52 percent after 20 years. . In the first 10 years, 2.2 million jobs would be added. . The refunded carbon tax would add between $80 billion and $90 billion to annual gross domestic product (GDP). . Because of reduced air pollution, by 2025, 13,000 lives would be saved annually.

Since 1980, REMI has conducted economic impact studies for an impressive list of clients – The Atlanta Regional Commission, Ernst & Young, the California Department of Finance, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), to name just a few.

There have been other studies, including one from the Congressional Budget Office, that said a carbon tax created a slight drag on the economy. REMI's approach differs by returning all revenue to all households, assuming a border adjustment will protect American manufacturing and rather than doing a macroeconomic study, the analysis is done by 160 industry types and nine regions.

Until now, it has been generally assumed that action to reduce the threat of global warming will have a negative impact on the economy and reduce jobs. The REMI study turns that assumption on its head. With a carbon tax that refunds revenue to households, we can fight climate change AND add jobs.

OTHER LASER TALKS: Between now and the conference, there are several laser talks we recommend volunteers learn. These can be downloaded from the Laser Talks folder, which is found in the Lobbying folder on the Resources section of CCL Community. Topics include: . China Does it Matter What We Do? . Want Jobs? Pass a Carbon Tax . What are the Administrative Costs of the Dividend? . Border Tax Adjustment . Economic Effects . Health Effects . The EPA and Obama's plan

DON’T FORGET about the local impact laser talk(s) your group prepared last month. Please share with your group and be prepared to use them in your meetings on the Hill. ACTION Write letters to MoCs about the REMI report

On June 9th, CCL will release a study prepared by Regional Economic Models, Inc., on the economic impact of a nationwide carbon tax that returns revenue to households. This ground-breaking study shows that a steadily-rising tax on carbon can achieve the reductions we’re looking for in greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time ADDING jobs and wealth to the economy.

It is important that constituents bring this report to the attention of their members of Congress, especially as volunteers get ready to meet with them on Capitol Hill later this month.

At your meeting this month:

Write a letter to your representatives and senators alerting them to the REMI study and asking them to support a carbon tax that returns revenue to households.

Talking points:

. The REMI study found that in 10 years, a carbon tax that increases $10 per ton of CO2 year will reduce emissions by 33 percent. . If all the revenue is returned to households, it will add 2.2 million jobs and increase GDP by $80 billion to $90 billion by 2025. . Border tariffs would keep the global playing field level for American companies. These border tariffs provide a strong incentive for other nations to follow our lead and implement their own carbon tax. . Carbon tax detractors say that it would kill jobs, but the REMI study shows that a carbon tax – done the right way – will actually create jobs. . President Obama has announced the new EPA regulations to reduce emissions at U.S. power plants. If Republicans don’t want more regulations, a revenue-neutral carbon tax provides a market-based alternative to regulation. . The recent National Climate Assessment on the impact of climate change in the U.S. leaves no doubt that steps must be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Regional breakdown of climate change impact from NCA can be found at http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/2014/05/13/2014-national-climate- assessment-key-findings-part-3-regions/

Addresses

Rep. NAME HERE Sen. NAME HERE U.S. House of Representatives U.S. Senate Washington, DC 20515 Washington, DC 20510

BONUS ACTION!

Hold a letter-writing party at your home next weekend. ACTION Have people call MoCs June 23rd

As we head to Capitol Hill June 24th to lobby our representatives and senators, let’s put the wind behind our backs by demonstrating to our members of Congress the support that exists in their states and districts for action on climate change. To do this, let’s generate as many calls as we can from constituents expressing their support on June 23rd.

. Ask your members how many people they will email to call congressional offices on June 23. After the meeting, have them draft an email that will be ready to go out late on June 22. . Assign volunteers to enroll other local organizations and faith communities to make calls to congressional offices on June 23. . Assign someone to prepare a note out to your chapter’s email list that will go out on June 23 asking everyone to make the calls.

Resources (found in the Lobbying folder in the Resources section of CCL Community):

Letter to friends asking them to call congressional offices June 23. Letter to organizations to request that they ask members to call congressional offices June 23. ACTION Determine a specific secondary ask for MoCs

Our first ask with members of Congress has been to introduce or support carbon fee-and- dividend legislation. If this is a request your member of Congress is not ready to say “yes” to, there are other requests that can help us move the ball downfield, so to speak. As we prepare for our meetings in Washington, we need to determine what that secondary request might be for each member of Congress.

Discuss and determine which secondary request would be most appropriate for the senators and representatives your group will meet with in Washington.

Suggestions to consider include – but are not limited to – the following:

. Talk to Rep. Camp or Sen. Hatch about a hearing to discuss a revenue-neutral carbon tax. . Meet with other Republicans to discuss free-market solutions to our fossil fuel addiction. . Speak with military commanders about the effects of climate on our preparedness. . Attend or send a staffer to the VFW roundtable discussion on climate change and national security on June 27. . Ask Democrats to commit to revenue neutrality. . Share the REMI study results with colleagues. . Speak to someone across the aisle about their thoughts on the issue. . Introduce a carbon tax legislation during the lame duck. . Read what business leaders are saying about a carbon tax. . Conduct a field hearing on climate change.

More detail and background on these secondary requests is available in the Lobbying folder under the Resources section of CCL Community.