If the maladies preventing Congress from enacting effective climate legislation are cynicism and hopelessness, the antidote arrived on Capitol Hill last week in the person of volunteers from Citizens Climate Lobby.

The medicine may take a while to show its effect, but based on the positive response CCL volunteers received in numerous Republican offices, there is cause for optimism. 

"Obviously, any bill that has a hope of passing will have to be introduced by a Republican," said CCL Executive Director Mark Reynolds, "and we've taken the first steps toward identifying a GOP lead on this."

About 80 activists came to Washington from as far away as Alaska and Canada for CCL’s 2011 International Conference, where they attended a day of educational and skill-building sessions and followed that up with more than 140 visits to House and Senate offices.

They heard from renowned climatologist Dr. James Hansen, a familiar figure in the environmental community since he first testified before the Senate on the growing threat of global warming. But there were also faces not so familiar. 

One of those was U.S. Navy Capt. Wayne Porter, co-author of “A National Strategic Narrative,” which is attracting attention for providing the context for a shift in policy toward sustainability.  This report comes on the heals of the Joint Operating Environment 2010 report, which cited climate change as one of the leading threats to U.S. National security:

“In particular, where natural disasters collide with growing urban sprawl, widespread human misery could be the final straw that breaks the back of a weak state.” 

Coming from the military, these reports carry much weight with Republican offices, and CCL volunteers were quick to cite them. They were also quick to cite a report from the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, “Fate of Mountain Glaciers in the Anthropocene.”  The Vatican report urges our societies to: 

“Reduce worldwide carbon dioxide emissions without delay, using all means possible to meet ambitious international global warming targets and ensure the long-term stability of the climate system. All nations must focus on a rapid transition to renewable energy sources and other strategies to reduce CO2 emissions.”

Ultimately, though, what resonated with many Republican offices was CCL’s revenue-neutral approach to pricing carbon, known carbon-fee-and-dividend. A steadily-increasing fee on carbon-based fuels, starting at $15 per ton of CO2, eventually levels the playing field between dirty and clean energy. The clear and predictable price signal moves investments toward renewables and energy efficiency. Revenue from that fee is returned equitably to all households so that people have the extra income to deal with rising energy costs associated with the carbon fee. It doesn’t increase the size of government – anathema to the GOP – and it doesn’t require new government monitoring or regulations. 

The conversations were a little different in Democratic offices, where despair and defeat lingered from the last election, some members having lost seats and chairmanships on important committees when their party fell into the minority. In those offices, the job wasn’t to persuade aides about the need to reduce carbon emissions. The job was to convince them that we could still find a path to enact the critical legislation to get the job done. CCL volunteers told them to hang in there, that we’d need their support once we had a bill with a Republican sponsor.

The progress made last week is owed more to CCL’s approach, which is to appreciate rather than revile politicians of all stripes for the often thankless job they do. Richmond chapter leader Elli Sparks best captured the experience of many volunteers: 

“We looked for the light and found it every time.  A smile, a softening, eyes brightening, arms un-crossing, even tears. These were beautiful and affirming moments.  The men and women of Congress have started down the path of what will become the most rewarding thing they have ever done in their professional careers, perhaps even in their lives.  It will also be the most challenging.  It will require courage they never knew they had. That extra courage is there for them because we planted it this week. We planted the courage and revived the will. Our breakthroughs are their breakthroughs and belong to the world.”