Hundreds turn out for PennEnvironment’s annual citizen lobby day

“It was great to meet so many new people, who have different experiences and reasons for caring about these issues, coming together for a joint cause.”–Madison, Westmoreland County

From Erie to the Poconos and from Pittsburgh to Philly, over 250 Pennsylvanians participated in this year’s citizen climate action lobby day. Over the course of the day, participants joined sixty meetings with Pennsylvania state senators, state representatives and their staff–nearly one-quarter of the entire state legislature.

The annual event was held virtually again this year to make it easier for residents concerned about climate change to participate in the day. Over 40 state senators and representatives pledged to add their names to legislation introduced to rein in global warming pollution and implement clean, renewable energy alternatives, and to ask other legislators in the General Assembly to join them and do the same.

During a mid-day virtually rally, attendees of the citizen lobby day heard from keynote speakers, including the Democratic Chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, State Sen. Carolyn Comitta; State Rep. Aerion Abney, the sponsor of legislation to make climate polluters pay for their pollution; and State Rep. Jenn O’Mara, the lead sponsor of legislation to set energy efficiency standards for a set of commonly used appliances in Pennsylvania.

Our citizen lobby day also garnered significant media attention as well, with stories in the Scranton Times Tribune, Yahoo News, and MyChesco.com. You can also check out PennEnvironment’s news release about the day here. 

This year’s lobby day was cosponsored by a wide coalition of groups who recruited attendees, joined meetings themselves, and helped make the day a success: PennPIRG, Solar United Neighbors, Vote Solar Action Fund, POWER Interfaith, Sierra Club PA, Clean Air Action Fund, Conservation Voters of PA (CVPA), PennFuture, Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA), Lutheran Advocacy Ministry in Pennsylvania (LAMPA), and Evergreen Action.

Feedback from other lobby day citizen attendees included: 

“Feeling like PA might finally do the right things and get us out of using mostly fossil fuels for our energy.  Great job everybody at PennEnvironment!”–Nora, Chester County

“The rally was a great place to connect with fellow advocates, get excited, and hear from champions on climate in the legislature.”–Quentin, Lehigh County

“I love hearing about what and why other people are concerned about climate change, and learning about the most recent climate bills and action plans.” — Helen, Philadelphia

Now it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get some of these proposals over the finish line! Looking forward to seeing you at PennEnvironment’s 2025 citizen climate lobby day next year!