2026 CCL NE Multistate Conference: Building Bridges to Climate Solutions

Whether you are new to Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL), a seasoned volunteer, or anyone who wants to help create the political will for a livable world, register here to learn from experts and each other how to enact meaningful climate legislation and educate the public on proposed solutions.

Join us for an optional social gathering with hors d'oeuvres on Friday evening, April 10, and get to know your fellow climate volunteers. On Saturday April 11 we'll meet to learn from experts the latest on technology, policy, and strategies for enacting meaningful climate legislation and educating the public on solutions.

After a continental breakfast on Saturday, we open with a welcome session on CCL’s unique BRIDGE initiative, a strategy for using evidence-based skills to build relationships with people who think differently than we do, and widen opportunities for change. Following that there will be 12 sessions on a variety of topics. Lunch is included. See below for details.

Ready to become a more informed, connected, and effective climate advocate? Our conference will give you the tools to take meaningful action. We hope to see you there!

Early-bird rate (ends March 8): $110

Regular registration fee: $130

Student rate: $30 (requires current student email address)

Late registration surcharge of $20 begins on April 1.

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Info: Registration

Info: A chance to meet with other climate advocates from around the region. Enjoy conversation, share tips, generate ideas while enjoying a snack and a beverage. Cash bar, free hors d'oeuvres and desserts.

Info: Breakfast includes bakery items, fruit, yogurt, coffee, and tea. Registration continues all day.

Info: After a welcome and outline of the day's events, conference participants will review essential elements of CCL's BRIDGE training. (BRIDGE stands for Building Relationships in Dialogue, Growth, and Engagement.) “At its heart, it’s a volunteer training program designed to help us become even more effective climate advocates,” says Dr. Brett Cease, CCL Vice President of Field Operations. “It will deepen our skills in communication, relationship-building, and strategic engagement.”

Info: TBA

Info: Jeff will explain why widely-distributed grid-scale batteries are necessary to decarbonize the electricity grid, and will unpack the successful campaign he led in the Town of Poughkeepsie, NY to overturn the 18-month moratorium on batteries that the Town Board had imposed—offering lessons learned and strategies that advocates can use in their own communities. Jeff will emphasize the importance of messaging that centers local benefits (rather than climate benefits), and will explain how grid batteries can lower local electric bills, increase grid reliability, and reduce local air pollution.

Info: CCL’s signature training, essential for participating as an effective CCL citizen lobbyist. How do CCL activists turn elected officials into climate champions? Learn how at CCL's signature Climate Advocate Training. Designed for newer volunteers to understand CCL's structure, mission, purpose and methodology, and inspire you to find your role so you can hit the ground running. Required training if you plan to participate in lobbying. In this interactive workshop you will learn the basics of becoming an effective climate advocate and building common ground, review CCL's legislative strategy and policy agenda, and participate in a mock lobby meeting practice.

Info: CCL volunteers can build support for a powerful federal carbon price by engaging in all five of CCL’s levers for creating political will (grassroots advocacy, grasstops engagement, media, chapter development, and lobbying). This session will focus on practical ways to do that.

We will start with a review of why CCL has long championed Carbon Fee and Dividend with a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism as the most effective and durable federal climate policy. Then I'll share a dozen proven project ideas that volunteers can adapt to their local communities, election cycles, and volunteer capacity.

A common set of talking points and resources can be reused across multiple efforts, saving time and making it easier for new volunteers to get involved. Working together, our efforts can create the conditions Congress needs to enact the most effective climate policy the next time the opportunity arises.

Info: Neely Kelly will begin with an overview of AES, the largest US-based global power company and a major source of energy innovation: its work globally, in the US, and in the northeast. She will follow with an overview of the Article VIII Permitting process for utility scale renewables, focusing on community engagement regulations, taking a deeper look at the structure and execution of AES' Stakeholder Engagement program. Participants will leave with a deeper understanding of Article VIII community engagement requirements in NY, and how climate advocates can meaningfully engage in the permitting process for utility scale projects in NY. Neely’s expertise and knowledge is stakeholder engagement in NYISO, but she can touch on what this looks like in other states in the northeast.

Info: Part 2 of the training includes preparing for and participating in a mock lobby meeting.

Info: A selection of sandwiches and wraps (including vegetarian), garden salad, housemade potato chips, baker's fresh dessert, coffee, tea, and water.

Info: Leon will talk about how and why he helped build the CCL-NY Utility Reform Working Group. He'll describe some of the group’s achievements, such as drafting utility reform bills with state legislators, and some of the challenges they have overcome. He will also give tips on how to set up a CCL state-level policy group for your own state to engage and empower interested volunteers statewide to have a real political impact.

Info: In January 2026 Governor Kathy Hochul called for 5 GW of new advanced nuclear energy in New York State. Why is this a climate issue? What does “advanced nuclear” actually mean and how is it different from what we already have? There will be a brief overview of nuclear’s role in the grid, and its environmental impact vs. other carbon-free sources of energy. Next will be a deeper dive into the kinds of reactors being advanced and their potential impact on the grid. The session will close with Q&A.

Info: Sadie will briefly present on the current structure of Higher Ed in CCL, using UVM as a case study. She will follow with interactive components where the audience can discuss and practice campus engagement strategies.

Info: Energetic is a board game in which players work together to research, win approval for, and build 16 GW of zero carbon power for New York City. Teaching the challenges of timely decarbonization, Energetic is taught at 46 colleges and universities in the US and around the world (including Vassar, Bard, and SUNY), as well as in dozens of US high schools. A nonpartisan teaching tool, it’s used by professors at Vanderbilt (TN) and Wofford College (SC). It has been presented at AGU24 (Washington DC) and EGU25 (Vienna), two major climate science conferences. Energetic is based on NYC, and we're interested in replicating this project for other cities and building an open source online platform to provide an accurate teaching tool for the public.

We will set up game boards to demonstrate how the game works, its reasoning, game accuracy during the 7 years it's been in use, and our plan to update the game for 2029-2043. https://newyork.thecityatlas.org/energetic/energetic-in-new-york/

Info: Farmland is prime land for solar developments. Agrivoltaics, the use of farmland for solar panels and agriculture, is being researched as a way to meet both our food and energy needs. Hear about the research and experiences of a panel of experts - the good, the bad, and the complexities of agrivoltaics.

Info: Details TBA

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Union College, College Park Hall, Schenectady, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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