About Citizens Climate Lobby (Canada)

Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL) is a growing organization of local volunteer groups in Canada and the U.S. that are pressing for progressive climate legislation. We lobby our representatives and governments to support carbon fee and dividend and end subsidies to fossil fuel companies. The former puts a direct fee on carbon-based fuels at the source, providing a market signal to invest in clean energy technology, while returning the fee’s revenue to households in the form of regular payments.

CCL takes the view that politicians generally do not create political will, rather they respond to it. CCL uses a model for citizens to create political will that has proven to be successful in Canada and the U.S. by the organization RESULTS (which has the mandate to reduce poverty).

Our purposes are:

• To create the political will for a sustainable climate.
• To empower individuals to have breakthroughs in exercising their personal and political power.

CCL was founded in 2007 in the US by Marshall Saunders. Marshall is a recipient of the Grameen Foundation Humanitarian Award and is a presenter with The Climate Reality Project. There are now more than 88 active groups in Canada and the U.S. and growing!

CCL began its first chapter in September 2010 in Sudbury, Ontario. Soon after, in November 2010 Toronto and Red Lake joined. As of March 2013 we have 20 fully trained group leaders and their volunteers covering 11 areas of Canada and over 30 ridings. Our plans are to have 50 ridings covered by November 2013.

Listen to one of our first recruits, Liz from CCL Toronto, describe her CCL experience on The Green Majority on March 1, 2013. The title of the radio program is:  Citizen Lobbyists

CCL is a non-partisan organization. People of all political stripes are welcome. By joining CCL you will work with dedicated volunteers whom are committed to creating the political will for an extrinsic (transparent) price on carbon pollution in Canada and a wider continental web of CCL groups working for the same purpose.

A poster that describes ten key strategies for being a Citizen Climate Lobbyist: