Interfaith Power & Light

A Religious Response to Global Warming

  • About
    • Mission & History
    • IPL Team
      • Our Staff
      • Our Board of Directors
      • Job Openings
    • Find your State IPL
      • Your State IPL
      • Guidelines for Forming an Affiliate in Your State
    • Fact Sheet and Annual Report
    • Job Openings
  • Get Involved
    • Programs
      • FaithClimateJusticeVoter Campaign
      • Cool Congregations
      • Faith Climate Action Week
      • Paris Pledge
      • Carbon Covenant
    • Policy Positions
    • Upcoming Events
      • Faith Climate Action Week April 16 – 25, 2021
  • Take Action
    • Current Action Alerts
      • Town Hall Toolkit
    • Climate Justice is Racial Justice
    • COVID-19 RESOURCES AND INFORMATION
    • Pledge to be a Climate Justice Advocate
    • Host a Series of Movie Screenings
  • News & Resources
    • Congregational Solar Directory
    • Climate Change 101
    • Carbon Reduction Resources
      • EPA Energy Star for Congregations Workbook
      • Solar State-by-State Resources
      • Solar Congregations and Resources
      • Clean Energy Investment Resources
      • Divestment Resources
    • Religious Statements and Resources
      • Religious Statements on Climate Change
    • Educational Resources
      • Films and DVDs
      • For Children and Youth
      • Posters
      • Study Guides
      • Books and Booklets
    • Blog
    • In the News
  • Worship Resources
    • Faith and Global Warming Links
    • Climate Prayers and Sample Sermons
    • Sacred Texts with Creation Care Themes
    • Prayers, Poetry, and Other Worship Resources
    • Articles on Faith and the Environment
      • Success Stories
      • Music
  • Our Impact
    • Request a Speaker
    • Meet IPL Climate Converts & Leaders
    • Past Events
      • Participate in the Election Process
      • Join The Global Climate Action Summit and Climate March
      • People’s Climate March
      • Bishop Blaire Call Recap
  • Give
    • Donate Now
      • Planned Giving
  • Contact Us

January 8, 2021

Protect our Democracy – Statement from the IPL Board of Directors

The Board of Directors of Interfaith Power & Light joins the civic groundswell calling for the swift removal of Donald J. Trump as President of the United States, by any lawful means.

On Wednesday, we watched with grave concern as white supremacists and other extremists took over the U.S. Capitol, taking illegal and violent action and inappropriately invoking religion as they rampaged through the halls of our democracy.

This grave threat to our democracy was provoked and encouraged by the current president, seeking to overturn the election and remain in office against the will of the people. Though his remaining time in office is short, these actions are a clear threat to national and global security. We join the growing bipartisan chorus insisting that he is unfit for office, and must be removed for the safety of our country and its citizens.

Especially disturbing was the double standard on display by law enforcement, with a violent white mob receiving lenient treatment, in contrast to recent experiences of people of color in peaceful protest being met with intimidation and violence.  As an organization committed to racial justice, we must raise our voices at this latest display of racism’s continuing legacy. As people of faith, we are called to advance both racial and climate justice, and we commit ourselves to work to heal the divisions in our nation.

 

Filed Under: Bottom Feature, Press Releases, What's New

December 30, 2020

Year in Review

Top 6 faith + climate events of 2020

6. March 2020: COVID Pandemic shows how we are all interconnected. It also provides a terrifying preview of the disease spread that could occur as global warming worsens. Meanwhile, the drastic curtailment in travel cuts emissions and gives parts of nature a much-needed break from human presence.

 

5. June 2020: Uprisings for Racial Justice around the country underscore that systemic racism cannot be disconnected from climate change impacts and climate justice. Pollution and the impacts of global warming have always disproportionately harmed communities of color, and consensus that climate solutions must be centered in justice for frontline communities builds.

 

4. August 2020: Presidential candidates showcase their faith, and expand on their pro-climate agendas, most notably Cory Booker (Baptist), Pete Buttigieg (Episcopalian) and Joe Biden (Catholic). Joe Biden seals the Democratic nomination with the support of African Americans, particularly southern Black leaders who find him the most trustworthy champion of their rights and values.

 

3. October 2020: Massive wildfires in the West and record number of hurricanes in the Atlantic demonstrate nature’s awesome power, while we knowingly ignore our planet’s life support systems. Churches and other faith communities step up to provide support to evacuees and storm victims.

 

2. November 2020: Biden and Harris win the White House pledging climate justice and to put the U.S. on a path to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to promising to re-join the Paris climate accord on Day 1, the President-elect begins to put together an experienced climate team, with appointments announced for a new international climate envoy (John Kerry), domestic climate policy advisor (Gina McCarthy), and similarly capable EPA, Energy, Interior, and Transportation picks.

 

1. December 2020: COVID Relief bill includes provisions to expand renewable energy, shore up Amtrak and local transit systems, cut super-pollutants, and protect Americans from utility shutoffs. In all it’s the most significant climate and energy legislation passed by Congress in more than a decade.  A hopeful note on which to end the year!

 

 

Filed Under: Blog

November 16, 2020

The Washington Report

Washington Report - Aug. 2020 

January, 2021

by Jonathan Lacock-Nisly, Federal Policy Associate

This was meant to be a review of IPL’s policy work in 2020, but the first few weeks of 2021 have provided enough happenings for a year already. Since the January 6th attack on the Capitol, undertaken by a mob including white supremacists and encouraged by President Trump, Interfaith Power & Light has called for the President to resign or be removed from office. The world that we seek to achieve—a world of racial justice and climate justice, a world where we care for our neighbors and Creation—cannot be achieved unless we successfully reject this attack on our democracy. You can add your voice to that call here.

 

Climate and Environment in Covid Relief

Another important update from the past month, before we go back to the beginning of 2020, concerns the environmental provisions included in the combined Covid relief and federal budget bill passed into law at the end of December. After months of advocacy from IPL, state affiliates, and people of faith across the country, Congress passed funding for extended unemployment insurance, rental assistance, and more. You can read about the non-environmental components of that relief here.

 

The environment and climate section of the bill included:

-A deal to phase out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), a climate super polluter currently used to make air conditioners and refrigerants

-Extensions for the solar, wind, and energy efficiency tax credits at current levels. (A tax credit for carbon capture and sequestration was also extended.)

-$14 billion in aid for local public transit systems, and $1 billion for Amtrak

-The Weatherization Assistance Program funded at $330 million for 2021, and then $350 million for 2022-25 (compared to $257 million in 2019)

-$25 billion in rental assistance that can also be used for utilities

-$638 million for low-income water and sewer customer assistance in the form of block grants to state and Tribal governments

 

Advocates working at the state and local level should look out for opportunities to shape policies around how the rental/utility assistance and water block grants are spent. States and tribes will have considerable power in deciding how to structure and prioritize those programs.

 

Thanks to everyone who worked so hard to get those provisions included. And of course, there’s still plenty left to do—President-elect Biden will be crafting his own Covid bill aimed at a longer term recovery, and Congress will be considering an infrastructure bill that is likely to closely resemble the Moving Forward Act (HR 2) that passed the House last year. Both of these bills will offer opportunities to continue working for clean energy, environmental justice, utility assistance, public transit, and more. See the FAITH Principles and Policies document, signed by over two dozen national religious organizations, for guidance in meeting with your elected officials.

 

With that out of the way, we’ll go back to…

 

Early 2020

Around this time a year ago, when our biggest public health concern was flu season, we were supporting an energy efficiency package put together by Sen. Murkowski (R-AK) and Sen. Manchin (D-WV). The package brought together about 50 bipartisan energy bills, including the extension of clean energy tax credits. The Nonprofit Energy Efficiency Act, a top IPL priority that would provide funding for houses of worship and other nonprofits to purchase solar panels, was also included.

 

However, the inclusion of a deal to phase out HFCs (very similar to the one that ended up passing in December), ultimately turned some Senate Republicans against the bill. The package still had the support of over 60 senators, but then-Majority Leader McConnell refused to allow a vote. Efforts to reach an agreement were interrupted by…

 

The Pandemic

Like everyone, it took some time for IPL to figure out our new role in a global pandemic. Our faith leaders were tending to immediate needs in their communities, our opportunities for in-person organizing disappeared, and Congress needed time to figure out what a lobby meeting without a hand shake would look like.

 

Yet we adapted, and we began to understand what our role would be in this pandemic. We learned how local air pollution from fossil fuels contributes to Covid deaths, and because of our country’s history of environmental racism, how those deaths disproportionately happen in majority Black neighborhoods.

 

The police killing of George Floyd, the subsequent uprising for Black lives, and a nation-wide refocusing on racial justice reinforced our efforts on environmental justice. We cannot achieve racial justice without environmental justice, and we cannot stop the climate crisis without uprooting the systems that permit environmental racism.

 

IPL worked with other faith and environmental organizations to craft letters to Congress outlining our priorities for Covid relief, including:

-Prioritizing environmental justice communities for funds and immediate pollution protection

-Stopping utility shut-offs, providing utility bill assistance, and funding low-income weatherization assistance

-Investing in clean energy as a form of job creation

-Ensuring relief funds didn’t go to the fossil fuel companies making this health crisis worse

-Providing funds for vote-by-mail to ensure that everyone could safely participate in our democracy

 

IPL affiliates and people of faith across the country joined us in calling, writing, and tweeting their support for these priorities. Over the spring and summer, we had dozens of meetings with congressional offices to highlight the need for action. The House passed several versions of the Heroes Act, which included many of our asks. The Senate, however, failed to act for months, until it became clear that no legislation would have time to pass before…

 

The Election

Throughout the year, IPL and affiliates advocated for fair elections that allowed everyone to cast their vote safely through early voting and voting by mail. And with our Faith Climate Justice Voter Campaign, we contacted over 1.1 million people of faith and urged them to vote with the climate in their hearts. Some more specifics from that campaign include:

 

-Texting over 250,000 infrequent voters of faith who are alarmed about climate change in Arizona, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Hampshire, and North Carolina

-Distributing 15,000+ multi-issue values voter guides, which included climate action and care for -Creating as a key values voter issue

-Collecting 6,400+ pledges to vote with climate justice and Creation in mind

-Inspiring 1,296 climate pledge signers to also get three friends to vote

-Reaching millions of people through dozens of media articles in religious and mainstream outlets, from Forbes to the National Catholic Reporter to New Hampshire Public News.

 

The Faith Climate Justice Voter Campaign and Georgia IPL engaged again for the Georgia run-off elections on January 5th, encouraging people of faith to vote early and with the climate in mind.

 

With the victory of Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, Democrats now hold a tie breaking vote in the Senate, a slim majority in the House, and the White House. As mentioned above, the coming months will present opportunities for more progress on climate and environmental justice priorities through Covid recovery and infrastructure bills, shaped by our FAITH Principles and Policies. The new Congress and President-elect Biden have heard a clear call from people of faith to act on climate in 2021.

 

With your help, we plan to ensure they do just that.

Filed Under: Blog

November 16, 2020

The Washington Report

NEWS RELEASE: NOVEMBER 2020

CONTACT: Jonathan Lacock-Nisly

THE WASHINGTON REPORT

Washington, DC has been full of celebrations this week, as the District that gave President Trump just 5% of their vote bids him a not-so-fond farewell. On the Saturday after the election, as the major television networks called the race for President-elect Biden, Washingtonians took to the streets and partied into the night, ultimately buying more champagne than on the last two New Years combined. 

But what else happened in this election?

New Congress

House Democrats, who had been expecting their 232-197 majority to grow, instead saw it shrink to the smallest House majority in decades. Votes are still being counted in several races, but it’s clear that Democrats will have a very small margin for error. They will likely need the agreement of all but three or four members of their caucus to pass legislation.

Control is still TBD in the Senate, with Democrats failing to pick up expected victories in Maine and North Carolina. That puts the Senate at 50 Republicans and 48 senators in the Democratic caucus, leaving control to be determined by two run-off races in Georgia on January 5th. Whether or not Sen. Mitch McConnell remains majority leader will have big implications for what legislation is possible in 2021.

Lame Duck 

It could be an unexpectedly busy lame duck session, with negotiations over another covid relief bill ongoing. IPL and other faith partners have been speaking out on our vision for a faithful recovery for months. While a deal with some of our priorities seemed close in July and August, those talks ultimately fell apart. You can see our priorities for a faithful recovery here.

With the government set to run out of funding by mid-December, both parties have also expressed a surprising interest in completing a full budget process. Rather than passing another Continuing Resolution to keep funding at current levels for several months until the new Congress is seated, the current Congress will go through the full committee process to set the budget for 2021. We’re hopeful that any priorities not included in the covid relief bill can be funded in that budget.

Looking to 2021

What exactly Congress will be able to accomplish is largely dependent on the outcome of those Senate races in Georgia, but the faith community has already established principles for the new Congress and new administration. These principles will guide our shared call for climate action.

Shared FAITH Principles

  • FRONTLINE, vulnerable, and BIPOC communities must be supported first;
  • ACCELERATE the transition to clean energy and commit to net-zero climate pollution in electricity by 2035;
  • INVEST in climate resiliency and sustainable infrastructure;
  • TRANSITION our workforce to clean energy jobs with support and job training for workers;
  • HONOR Creation by following science and commit to net-zero climate pollution by 2050

From day one, we’ll expect the Biden administration to get to work on integrating considerations of environmental justice into all of the workings of the federal government, while also starting the regulatory process of reinstating the 100+ key environmental protections rolled back by the Trump administration.

Be sure to check back here for updates on that work, as well as legislative priorities for the new session of Congress. And to everyone who voted in this election with the climate in mind, a big thank you from Interfaith Power & Light!

 

Filed Under: What's New

November 9, 2020

Interfaith Power & Light Statement on Rejoining Paris Climate Accord

NEWS RELEASE: November 9, 2020

CONTACT: Jonathan Lacock-Nisly

Interfaith Power & Light Statement on Rejoining Paris Climate Accord

In 2015, people of faith and conscience from around this country urged the U.S. to sign on to the Paris Climate Accord as an act of moral courage, committing to limiting greenhouse gas emissions to ensure a habitable planet for current and future generations.

On November 4th, the Trump administration completed the U.S.’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, the only nation in the world to have done so.

Now, with an Electoral College victory declared, Interfaith Power & Light calls on President-elect Biden to fulfill the promise that he made to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord on Day One of his presidency.

“The Paris Climate Agreement is a commitment by the nations of the world to act on the immediate existential threat caused by climate change,” said Rev. Susan Hendershot, president of Interfaith Power & Light. “The Biden administration must act with courage and boldness in order to protect the futures of our children and grandchildren, and do so in a way that centers justice and equity in the solutions. Rejoining the Paris Accord is the first step.”

People of faith and conscience view the climate crisis as one of the defining moral issues of our time. A recent poll commissioned by Interfaith Power & Light found that almost three-quarters (73%) of voters say they are worried about climate change, including 87% of Black Protestants, 82% of nonwhite Catholics, 77% of white Catholics, 76% of Jews, and 57% of white evangelical Protestants.

More than 8 in 10 of these faith voters see their responsibility to care for God’s creation as a reason to act on the climate crisis. We urge the President-elect to listen to people of faith and conscience and follow through with his promise to rejoin the Paris Climate Accord on his first day in office.

*** 

For more information or to schedule an interview with Rev. Susan Hendershot, contact Jonathan Lacock-Nisly, IPL Federal Policy Associate,  [email protected]

###

Filed Under: In the News, Press Releases

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 259
  • Next Page »

Keep in touch

We've Moved!
Interfaith Power & Light
672 13th Street, Suite 100
Oakland, CA 94612
510-444-4891

Affiliate Wiki Login

Search IPL

What’s New

Protect our Democracy – Statement from the IPL Board of Directors

The Washington Report

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • Instagram
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Brought to you by

Brought to you by The Regeneration Project

Copyright © 2021 All Rights Reserved • Interfaith Power & Light • Privacy Policy • Log in