California Interfaith Power & Light

Building an interfaith movement for climate justice.

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COP28 begins November 30, 2023

This is the first in a series of posts about COP 28 from CIPL supporter Amy Quirk, who is attending in Dubai.

Come, experience this environmental conference. Our faith communities can access various aspects of COP28 without traveling to Dubai. Some pathways are available now and more may open soon.

The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international climate summit. World leaders gather to collaborate on solutions to tackle climate change. There are now 198 Parties (197 countries plus the European Union) to the Convention, constituting near universal membership.

Here is a brief history of UN Climate negotiations through the years.

This year is the 28th Conference, hosted by the United Arab Emirates from November 30 to December 12, 2023 in Dubai.

You are welcome to attend as well. Here’s how.

Let’s begin with a depiction of the COP28 site in the Expo City district of Dubai. This visual may help you orient yourself.

The Blue Zone

The Blue Zone is open to accredited party and observer delegates. It hosts the formal negotiations across the two weeks of the conference.

Though members of the public, who are not accredited delegates, cannot attend the conference in person, many events in the Blue Zone, such as “the plenary sessions of the bodies, the high-level segment with heads of states, many press conferences and side events will be webcast live for the public on unfccc.int”

All events in the U.S. Center at COP28 pavilion within the Blue Zone will be live-streamed, recorded and posted for viewing later. View the schedule of events here.

And avail yourselves of live-streaming and recordings at the U.S. Center at COP28 here.

The Green Zone

The Green Zone is open to the ticketed public to explore climate innovations and technology, interactive exhibits, art, film screenings, and talks.

Within the Green Zone will be these interest-area hubs:

  • Energy Transition Hub
  • Knowledge Hub
  • Climate Finance Hub
  • Technology & Innovation Hub
  • Startup Village
  • Humanitarian Hub
  • Youth Hub
  • Greening Education Hub

Here is the latest schedule for events within the Green Zone.

The UNFCCC has provided a listing of social media access points for all COP28 events. Hopefully, one or more of these will help you experience the conference wherever you are.

Let’s go!

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Get Organized: Green Teams

Get Organized: Green Teams

Perhaps there is just one or two of you who are enthusiastically committed to your congregation’s carbon-reduction efforts, or perhaps you already have a team with clergy backing. As this process can take you down many paths, it’s desirable to have individuals with varied interests, skills, and perspectives. One or two motivated individuals can jumpstart the process, but we advise recruiting a team to avoid burnout and to increase consensus and ownership.

While each congregation is unique, you may want to consider forming a “Green Team” to serve as “project manager” to administrate the bidding, sizing and solar installation process at every step of the way.

  • Recruit at least three friends from your congregation who care about sustainability as an aspect of faith.
  • Meet with your pastoral leader(s) to get their endorsement.
  • Research your denomination’s statements on creation care.
  • Become an officially recognized group in the congregation.

In your first Green Team meetings:

  • Craft a mission statement. If your tradition has a statement on sustainability, incorporate that.
  • Brainstorm about what you hope to accomplish as a team. Go wild with this list – don’t hold back. Highlight up to three action items that can be accomplished within the first year.
  • Set a timeline of practical goals and a meeting schedule. Consider meeting once a month when getting started.
  • Issue news releases about Green Team initiatives in congregational media outlets.
  • Above all, pray together, learn together, and enjoy creation together!

Some Beginning Entry Points

  • Plan one event in the first six months – perhaps a class, a documentary screening, establishing a community garden or a tree planting. Consider “greening” a congregational event already planned.
  • Ask pastoral leaders to include environmental stewardship themes within regular services or classes.

Embracing Energy Efficiencies

  • Review the power bills for your buildings. Meet with the property staff to determine which energy efficiency projects to adopt.
  • Strive for a 25% energy reduction.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rejoice

  • Establish a recycling program in your congregation. Or maximize the visibility of your current one.
  • Obtain reusable dishware to reduce waste.
  • Adopt a “No-Water-Bottles” policy for events. Single- use plastic creates a huge environmental footprint. Encourage people to bring water bottles to events or use pitchers of water and cups.

Long-Term Goals

  • Participate in community conversations. Meet with local and state elected officials.
  • Plan interfaith or ecumenical eco-activities. Build relationships across congregations.
  • Apply for a Cool Congregations Certificate. 

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Apply to become a Cool Congregation!

Join the many faith communities across California that take seriously the call from their faith to care for their neighbor by caring for our common home. They are using Interfaith Power & Light’s unique Cool Congregations stewardship program resources to reduce the climate change emissions from their facilities, help their members reduce emissions at home, and serve as a leader in the wider community. They often save hundreds of dollars in the process.

Contact Gregory Stevens (he/they) to begin your application, gregory@interfaithpower.org 

Interfaith Power & Light’s Cool Congregations program offers resources to guide you every step of the way: taking a “before” snapshot of your carbon footprint, finding ways to reduce, educating your congregation, taking an “after” snapshot, and celebrating the success! Once you have your worship facility reducing energy use, get you congregants involved in reducing energy use at home. Get the Cool Congregations Contest kit soon!

The Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program estimates that if America’s 370,000 congregations cut energy use just 20% it would save nearly $630 million per year that could be applied to missions. These energy savings would prevent the equivalent reduction in climate pollution of eliminating emissions from 480,000 cars, or planting 60,000 trees every year!

Interfaith Power & Light’s Cool Congregations program offers many ways to help you cut the carbon.

Loomis Leads the Way

Loomis Basin Congregational UCC, in Loomis, California, is certified as a Cool Congregation at the 100% reduction level for installing solar that powers their all-electric buildings.

“As progressive Christians we understand that true justice requires that all of creation be healed in the process. God’s reign can only truly come to fruition when creation and its longevity are the center point of our flourishing. We celebrate being a congregation that takes environmental justice seriously because it is central to God’s invitation to co-create and be good stewards of this beautiful planet.” Rev. Casey Brian Tinnin, Church Pastor.

Contact Gregory Stevens (he/they) to begin your application, gregory@interfaithpower.org 

Member Ginny Day shares this,

“We are becoming more aware of the issue of climate change as we have been impacted by the growing frequency and severity of wildfires in our area.

We heat and cool, and power our buildings with heat pumps and don’t use gas for anything. We installed solar panels to provide 100% of our electric needs. The cost was $29,000, and we save $6000 annually on energy bills. 

Our electricity usage from the grid was 13,000 kWh, and our panels provide enough electricity to share the excess production of approximately 3500 kWh back to the grid to green the grid for others. 

We have reduced our electric bill to 0 (except for transmission charges,) and we have reduced our carbon emissions by 2 tons annually. Also, since we elected to go with Pioneer Community Energy, our excess electricity is helping to provide “green” energy for others.

We are part of a coalition of congregations in Placer County, “Placer People of Faith Together,” which has a “climate care” group, Placer Earth Care Action (PECA).. The cost savings that we have reported from our solar has persuaded a couple of other congregations who are part of the coalition to promote solar to their churches.”

IPL’s Cool Congregations Certification recognizes carbon reductions resulting from permanent changes made to congregational facilities to cut the use of fossil fuels. Since the Loomis Basin congregation gets all of its energy needs from the sun, they are recognized at the 100% reduction level. This is a laudable accomplishment, but Ginny reports the congregation is aiming to reduce emissions from other activities as well.

“Our building’s electricity is 100% green and renewable, but when I used the Cool Congregations calculator, it reminded me of all the other carbon-producing aspects of congregational life that we could work on reducing.

Because of our location (we are somewhat rural), there is no public transportation, and most of our members don’t carpool.  Among our members, we have 3 or 4 EVs plus a fair number of hybrid cars, but most are gas vehicles, so I calculated our overall level of carbon reduction was only about 10%.  

We plan to “green” our food service, update our heat pump, and put a rideshare app on our website.  We are also looking into getting an EV charger in our parking lot in a couple of years.”

Loomis Basin UCC website: https://www.loomisucc.org/

Contact Gregory Stevens (he/they) to begin your application, gregory@interfaithpower.org 

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On-Going: Faith Voice In 2023 Climate Justice Legislation

UPDATE: Oct 10, 2023

AB 631 (Hart) – Oil and gas: enforcement penalties

  • SIGNED

AB 579 (Ting) – Electric School Busses

  • SIGNED

SB 49 (Becker) – Solar parking lots (got cut) and highways

  • SIGNED
****PREVIOUS POSTS*****
UPDATE: Oct 5, 2023

Three of our five priority bills will be in front of the governor this month for his signature. The other two bills have been made into two year bills and will take more negotiating next year. The govenor has yet to sign the remianign three bills although we are hopeful, any extra boost you’re willing to give is helpful! Call his office at (916) 445-2841 and advocate for a healthier climate for all.

AB 631 (Hart) – Oil and gas: enforcement penalties

  • Passed and pending signature

AB 579 (Ting) – Electric School Busses

  • Passed and pending signature

SB 49 (Becker) – Solar parking lots (got cut) and highways 

  • Passed and pending signature

SB 233 – Bidirectional Charging

  • Did not pass

SB 674 – Air pollution: refineries: community air monitoring systems: fence-line monitoring systems.

  • Did not pass

****PREVIOUS POSTS*****

All five of CIPL’s priority bills have passed their house of origin, committees in the other chamber, and are now in Appropriations. Read below for more information on these bills and the active day in Sacramento on June 21. We continue our efforts with our partners to bring our priorities across the finish line!

Update: June 23, 2023

Last week, California Interfaith Power & Light brought 23 faith advocates from the Central Valley, Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and Sacramento area, and encouraged Senate and Assembly members to support crucial environmental justice and climate-friendly legislation. Five groups were formed and attended seven meetings each. The groups’ nicknames gave a sense of purpose to our day: “Starshine”, “Brilliance”, “Sunshine”, “Illumination”, and “Sunrise.”

from left, Allis Druffel, Jeffrey Ellis, Carney King, staffer with Senator Roth, and Gavin Parish enjoyed a good meeting.

Our priority legislation included: AB 579 (Ting), establishing 100% of school buses be electric by 2035; AB 631 (Hart), giving the California Department of Geologic Energy Management more legal mechanisms to enforce oil and gas drilling violations; SB 49 (Becker), calling for renewable energy to be widely expanded in business carports and highways; SB 233 (Skinner), instituting a study of and goal of 2030 for EVs to have bidirectional charging; SB 674 (Gonzalez), extending monitoring of, and real-time public notification of emissions from refineries; and a climate bond emphasizing natural resource protections, transportation electrification, and healthy funding to respond to extreme heat.

from left, Ector Olivares, Rev. Will McGarvey, and Alec Castellano.

Prior to the meetings, two briefing were held. One was a policy update event on June 15 in which office staff from Sen. Gonzalez, Sen. Skinner and Assemblymember Hart provided the latest info on their bills, good talking points, and challenges. The other was the morning briefing on June 21, in which Katelyn Roedner Sutter of Environmental Defense, Dan Jacobsen from Environment California, and Allis Druffel spoke on a Climate Bond, SB 49 and AB 579 respectively. The faith advocates, some of whom were well trained on policy, asked excellent questions. Armed with our fact sheets, good talking points and the faith mandate to care for all Creation, we headed to our meetings.

We all had a very good impression of 1021 O Street, the temporary building that houses legislators and their staff while the historical Capitol is being renovated. Despite individual offices not having much meeting space, there was enough space on each floor with tables, chairs, and couches to hold engaging and meaningful discussions.

Faith advocates prepare for their next meeting.

Some legislative offices were supportive of the bills, others not so much. In a debrief after the meetings, faith advocates knew one thing to be true: even in meetings that were difficult or in which we didn’t feel “heard”, it is crucial that the faith principles of loving our neighbor, fighting for racial and environmental justice, and protecting Earth be overtly proclaimed in the political sphere. One staff member encouraged our action forward with this comment: ‘Faith has been an important part of my life ever since I was a kid. Your efforts make my job easier.’

CIPL and the faith community will watch carefully as these bills move through their assigned committees and onto the Floor for votes. We’ll keep you updated as this process moves forward, including any actions needed.

We’d like to thank several organizational partners who sent faith advocates and/or helped to finance advocates for their travel, including Temple Isaiah Green Team of Los Angeles, St. John’s Lutheran Church of Sacramento, Catholic Charities of Stockton, Wattskanda and Watts Clean Air and Energy Committee of Los Angeles, Lutheran Office of Public Policy, Interfaith Council of Contra Costa County, Environmental Defense Fund, and the Immaculate Heart Community. As the saying goes, “Teamwork makes the dream work!”

****PREVIOUS POSTS*****

CIPL is excited to announce our 2023 state legislate priorities! They highlight issues that we have been working on for years, including protection for frontline communities, the growth of renewable energy, and equity in clean transportation. See our six priority bills below.

And, we’re excited to invite you to our Advocacy Day in Sacramento on June 21st!
This day is designed for those new to the process and returning advocates alike. We’ll guide you through every step of the process, beginning with a morning briefing and overview of the day. You’ll then be paired up with seasoned climate justice advocates who will support you and other constituents through legislative meetings.
As people of faith and conscience, we believe in the moral responsibility to uplift the dignity and worth of all people, and to care for our sacred Earth. Join us at the State Capital to do just that! Contact Allis at allis@interfaithpower.org for more information.
Faith advocates take part in a 2017 Advocacy Day at the Capitol.

Here are six priority bills:

SB 233 – Bidirectional Charging Capabilities by 2030 on cars

During extreme weather events and power outages, batteries in California’s EVs can also support critical electricity needs in homes, businesses and public facilities. Deployed in this manner, California’s transportation electrification can support enhanced grid resilience and reliability.

SB 674 – Air pollution: refineries: community air monitoring systems: fence-line monitoring systems

This bill will create a statewide standard for the refinery fence-line monitoring program to ensure that adequate noxious pollutants are measured, and that best practices and technologies are deployed in order to better protect the health and wellbeing of the surrounding communities.

SB 49 – Energy Renewable energy: Department of Transportation strategic plan

This bill would require the department, in coordination with the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission and the Public Utilities Commission, to develop a strategic plan to lease and license department-owned rights-of-way to public utilities or other entities to build and operate renewable energy generation facilities, energy storage facilities connected to renewable energy generation facilities, and electrical transmission facilities, as specified.

AB 579 – Electric School Buses by 2035

Requires that all purchases of new school buses be zero emission by 2035 and extends the maximum length of transportation service and leasing contracts for zero emission buses. AB 579 is a timely and thoughtful approach to building a healthier future for our next generation.”

AB 631 – Oil Enforcement and Community Protection

Increases civil and other penalties for violations of the state’s governing oil and gas statutes and regulations, and strengthens the Geologic Energy Management Division’s (CalGEM) authority to seek injunctive relief, cease and desist specified activities, and recoup administrative and enforcement costs.

 

 

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A 22-year-old’s Views on the Climate Crisis

Hope, Frustration, Fear, and Gratitude  

By: Laura Ullom-Minnich

I recently graduated from Manchester University, in May 2023,  with degrees in Biology and Environmental Studies with a concentration in Natural History. I am inspired by scientists who work to make the planet a better world and safer place, where justice prevails and the world is green. I am angry at the fossil fuel executives, plastic tycoons and world leaders that have put us in this precarious situation. Yes – I am scared about our future, but I am also energized, and hungry for change. 

 

We have solutions available now to change the world. We can have a 90% carbon-neutral energy grid by 2035. With the technology we have now, we can be almost all the way to a renewable energy world. One example of technology we can use to remove toxic pollutants from the ecosystems, reclaim waste and marginal lands, saline soils and water bodies, is the use of bioremediation and biodegradation.I am extremely passionate about this field of work. These techniques involve the use of biological systems such as microorganisms or their products and plants, as sustainable, cost effective options to reclaim contaminated soil/ water and transform them into less hazardous or non hazardous forms. 

Climate change, pollution and a host of other environmental risks disproportionately affect communities of color and low-income communities. Although these effects are not exclusive to the poor, they have limited access to help deal and cope with them. To achieve environmental justice, environmental laws and policies need to be developed, implemented and enforced to protect everyone-regardless of race or income. The federal government must do more to support and uplift the efforts of climate resiliency. One way to do this is improving environmental equity mapping, which is approximately what I am doing in my role as Climate Justice Advocate at California Interfaith Power & Light.

The EPA currently maps communities based on basic environmental and demographic indicators, but more can be done on the federal government to identify at risk communities. This data can be used to adjust rules under the Clean Air and Clean Water Act. If we can better understand the impact of pollution, we can make this data publicly available online to help communities measure their own health and safety. 

This relates to the work I am doing at California Interfaith Power & Light as I am researching congregations in underserved areas that could be good candidates for solar and/ or climate resiliency resources. As a Climate Justice Advocacy Associate, I work with California Interfaith Power & Light to expand our work with faith communities in underserved and disadvantaged communities, assist with events and webinars, create educational materials, and research to inform our policy advocacy and congregational outreach. 

I am thankful for the opportunity to work here at California Interfaith Power & Light as a Climate Justice Advocate.

#ClimateCrisis

#ClimateJustice

#AllAreCalled

#ThankfulThursday

 

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California Interfaith Power & Light
685 14th Street
Oakland, CA 94612
Phone: (510) 867-2031
Email: info@interfaithpower.org

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