What I learned as a Council intern
By Anna Chamberlin
AUGUST 13, 2025
After weathering my first-ever DC metro commute, I arrived at the Council’s doorstep on the first day of June eager to learn. Before this internship, I had little semblance of what life in the non-profit sector was like, let alone the nuances of running a bipartisan organization in today’s political landscape. As I sit to write this, I’m grateful to report that I’m leaving the Council with a whole host of new skills, perspectives, and connections, along with a commitment to look to climate as the guiding star of my career.
As I completed projects for each department, I built on skills gained throughout my first three years at Yale but also identified new areas for personal and professional growth. My coursework in global affairs came in handy when discussing new opportunities for U.S. international investment and export strategy with our research and policy team. Meanwhile, my time managing The Yale Globalist, an undergraduate publication, served me well in writing assignments for our communications and public affairs work.
One of my favorite projects centered on border carbon adjustments (BCAs), which, I learned, are essentially fees levied on pollution-heavy imports. With help from a new AI tool, I dug into global corporate responses to the implementation of the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and other border adjustments being considered in places as wide-ranging as the U.S., UK, Taiwan, Canada, Australia, South Korea, Japan, and India. As it turns out, the anticipation of BCAs is already driving low-carbon investments in carbon-intensive industries all over the world.
My work with the communications and public affairs team was wide-ranging and incredibly formative. I learned to develop social copy intended for a unique group of stakeholders–– ones that sometimes sit on opposite sides of the aisle yet share an interest in identifying market-based solutions for lowering global emissions. I also learned to distill complex research and policy ideas into newsletter and memo formats, including for the Center for Climate & Trade’s Nexus newsletter, strengthening the clarity and concision of my writing.
On the event planning front, I was lucky enough to help prep and attend the Council’s annual reception for stakeholders from industry, nonprofit, and government; two Center for Climate & Trade convenings focused on international investment and critical minerals supply chains; and our first-ever Intern Luncheon for climate interns working in DC over the summer. I learned the ins-and-outs of event registration, helped develop and revise agendas, and drafted thank-you emails to round out each event. I found hosting to be demanding yet rewarding. It’s an absolutely essential tenet of nonprofit work that opens the doors (sometimes literally) for new partnerships.
I felt privileged to see the Council’s work reach its golden destination in Congress during a few meetings with congressional staff in late June. These few hours on the Hill afforded me a glimpse of the “long-game” that is policy work. I also attended several Senate and House hearings to report back on the topics most relevant to the Council’s policy and research areas. Critical minerals, for example, were a motif in hearings in both chambers. A June hearing under the Senate’s Committee on Energy and Natural Resources confirmed that critical minerals are a hot issue for both sides of the aisle, as the U.S. supply chain is heavily import-reliant. A July House hearing in the Foreign Affairs Committee confirmed this much, as representatives discussed expediting the Development Finance Corporations’ permitting of domestic mining projects to limit U.S. reliance on Chinese minerals.
While I admired this view into congressional politics, my experience on the Hill made me appreciative of spending the summer at an organization with a defined and all-important focus: finding the most effective, fair, and lasting climate solutions. As someone who sees climate change as one of the greatest challenges facing my generation, I felt an enduring sense of purpose in every project I completed, meeting I attended, and conversation I struck up with Council staff.
I cannot thank this team enough for welcoming me to their workplace this summer. This internship has not only solidified climate as the focal point of my career but connected me to a spectacular group of professionals whose dedication and passion for the cause I will look to emulate in the years to come.