Our Southern California Director, Bekah Estrada, and our Northern California Director, Gregory Stevens, justwrapped up their trip to Washington D.C for the national Interfaith Power & Light network’s annual conference. Theyboth met with various California representatives and focused on national legislation (more on that below); they also began planting seeds for the lobbying we will be doing in Sacramento on June 4th – asking how we might partner with our already environmentally friendly legislators on the bills that matter most to us (their faith-filled constituents) this cycle. Next week we will announce our California priority bills – stay tuned for how you can help us push bold climate legislation past the finish line!
Our national team’s focus was on International Climate Finance and protecting our EPA rules from the Congressional Review Act (CRA).
International Climate Finance
We are witnessing the tragic effects of climate change play out around the world as climate disasters intensify. It is affecting every community on Earth, but it is low-wealth and historically disenfranchised communities that are least responsible for the problem that suffer the most. These are the very people our faith traditions call us to care for; their lives are of utmost moral concern.
The United States must do its fair share to provide and mobilize substantial and sustained international climate finance that supports those most vulnerable and least responsible for the climate crisis and is aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
To lead by example, the U.S. must take bold action to make ambitious investments to rapidly cut emissions and keep global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees.
For the FY25 Budget, we ask for the following contributions to International Climate Funding:
- SFOPS Bilateral Accounts:
- Adaptation: $1.1 billion
- Renewable Energy: $634 million
- Sustainable Landscapes: $451 million
- Green Climate Fund: $1 Billion
Additionally, we urge Congress to make strong and ambitious contributions to the Loss and Damage Fund. The U.S. must do our fair share to support countries that have contributed the least but experience the worst effects of climate change.
Congressional Review Act
In order to meet the urgent threats of the climate crisis, we must use every lever available to advance environmental justice and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This includes advancing or updating federal agency rules that address climate change from the power, transportation, and oil and gas sectors (power plant climate pollution, mercury pollution, light duty vehicles, methane, and soot pollution rules).
The Administration recently finalized rules that will save lives, protect public health, advance environmental justice, and grow our economy! The historic clean energy investments in the Inflation Reduction Act are jumpstarting America’s clean energy revolution. The EPA rules will accelerate the transition to a clean energy economy & create more jobs by cleaning up transportation, power plants and industrial facility pollution!
These rules are now subject to being overturned by Congress via the Congressional Review Act (CRA). With more frequent extreme weather events and ongoing attempts to defund key climate investments, Congress must protect finalized EPA rules and VOTE NO on any proposed CRA.
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