LESSONS LEARNED FROM A YEAR OF CLIMATE ADVOCACY: PART 1
By Margo Meiman and Audrey Heller, Our Climate Moment Co-Chairs
To promote meaningful legislation, a major strategy of the Our Climate Moment (OCM) team is to meet with Members of Congress (MOCs) to advocate for bold climate action. Since the Climate Reality Project launched the initiative in 2021, Bay Area OCM members have organized or attended 26 meetings with our U.S. Senators and Representatives. Here are a few things we have learned from our efforts to be heard on The Hill.
It’s not that scary
The idea of meeting with legislators is daunting at first. We had visions of suit-and-tie meetings around giant conference tables, with people spouting buzz-words and rolling their eyes at our concerns. In fact, we have seen the very personal side of our government. The people we meet with are real humans! They have names, passions, and senses of humor. They work hard, and sometimes look tired after a long day, or are distracted because they have a million things going on. It’s their job to meet with us. Some meetings go better than others.
Decide what you want from the meeting
Do you want to make a statement in support or against an action? Do you want to ask about the progress of a certain issue? Do you want to ask the MOC to take a specific action, like co-sponsoring a bill? Create a brief list of topics to go with your meeting request. This will help you get a meeting with the most appropriate person.
Get a (first) meeting
It’s great to meet directly with the lawmaker, but more than likely, you’ll be meeting with a member of their staff. That’s alright! The staff makes things happen! As you build rapport with the office, you may be referred to more senior or specialized staff. Start by calling the lawmaker’s office to find out who would be the best person to address your topics. Once you have a contact, it may take several emails to get a response. We suggest proposing meeting times with your request. That way it is simple to confirm as soon as they respond. Our lawmakers are busy and so are their staff! If emails don’t work, pick up the phone and ask for your contact directly. Be patient and persistent.
Fill the (zoom) room
There is power in numbers. Lawmakers are more likely to listen when there are more people in the room. When meeting with a Representative, try to gather as many of their constituents as you can, but don’t worry if not everyone in the meeting is in their district. Invite peers from other local environmental groups, and offer them a place on the agenda. They may do the same for you later!
Know your elected official and where they stand
Do your research. The Press Release page on your lawmaker’s website is an excellent resource to find out what your lawmaker is working on and what climate legislation they may have supported recently. Wikipedia is a good source for biographical info and personal insights. It’s helpful to open a meeting with a specific, positive message: “Thank you for cosponsoring Bill ABC ...; We appreciate your work on XYZ … “ Here in the Bay Area, we are fortunate that most of our elected officials are very pro-climate. Instead of spending time preaching to the choir, we quickly acknowledge the urgent need for strong climate policy and then dive right into the discussion on specific legislation.
Know your bill(s)
You don’t need to be an expert on the legislation you support, but you should be able to reference its main points and its essential vocabulary. Know the bill’s authors and cosponsors -- your lawmaker might be one of them! Be familiar with related bills. In addition to news outlets, Congress.gov is an excellent resource.
We hope you found this blog useful. We would love to hear your experiences working with local and state representatives. We’ll share more lessons learned in our next post, “Lessons Learned from a Year of Climate Advocacy, Part 2,” coming soon!