Gladwyne businessman and Citizens’ Climate Lobby volunteer, Jay Butera, has been working hard on getting a cross party lines discussion going on curbing carbon emissions, writes David Bornstein for The New York Times.

Butera has worked on addressing climate change for over a decade but a meeting with Florida Democrat Representative, Ted Deutch in 2013, proved to be the turning point.

During their discussion, Butera brought up his idea to create a bipartisan caucus in the House that would focus primarily on climate solutions. This resonated with Deutch, who agreed to help Butera achieve this goal. To get the caucus off the ground, they focused on Florida coastal areas affected by climate change.

“I saw that local mayors and county leaders were dealing with the impacts of climate change head on,” said Butera.

Today, the caucus has 38 cross-party members and meets once a month. While this is still not enough to create significant change, it is a huge step forward in the current political climate where bipartisan deals are rare.

“We need conversations with Congress, not just sound bites and accusations,” said Butera. “That’s how we’ll find a way forward.”

Read more about Butera’s efforts at The New York Times by clicking here.