One of the first chapters of the Citizens Climate Lobby will be launched this weekend in Greater Sudbury.
The Sudbury chapter of the Citizens Climate Lobby will meet Feb. 12 at the Fraser Building at Laurentian University.
The Citizens Climate Lobby aims to educate its members to communicate with media and politicans to discuss climate change. The goal is to have countries be able to create policies to reduce greenhouse gases and reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Cathy Orlando, group leader and science outreach co-ordinator at Laurentian University, said she was inspired to start a local group after she met Marshall Saunders, president of Citizens Climate Lobby and Al Gore, former vice-president of the United States, at a training session.
This will be the first Canadian group to be launched. A group in Toronto will be launched the same weekend as the Sudbury chapter, and a group in Red Lake, Ont. will move forward soon.
Orlando said the group has already been having meetings, about once a month.
“We’re specifically learning how to be citizen lobbyists,” she said. “It’s not just about the climate. It’s about the economy. It’s about creating a clean world. A lot of it is the economy, we get a lot of training about the economy and climate change.”
Though the group will be officially launched on Feb. 12, Orlando said members of the group have already been public about their cause.
She said one volunteer, who is a student of the green energy program at Cambrian College, spoke at a recent town hall meeting hosted by Jack Layton.
Orlando said she hopes to continue the momentum once the group is fully established.
“Our biggest thing is to put an end to fossil fuel subsidies,” she said. “In June we’re going to Washington D.C. (where) we will be meeting with members of congress and the world bank. All of this has been arranged by citizens climate lobby in California.
“We are going to be the Canadian representatives asking the American congress and world banks to put an end to fossil fuel subsidies and to put a tax on carbon.”
The group is open to all members of the public and Orlando said the group currently has members ranging in ages from 13 to senior citizens. She also said she believes climate change is a non-partisan issue.
Anyone interested in joining the group or looking for more information can contact Orlando at 705-675-1151 ext. 2226 or by e-mail at [email protected].
