California Interfaith Power & Light
Our Faith, Our Planet, Our Responsibility.
Welcome to California Interfaith Power & Light, the originator of the Interfaith Power & Light campaign that began in 2000 and now has 40 state affiliates. By signing the CIPL Congregational Covenant you become part of a diverse inter-religious network of climate-minded faith institutions across California committed to working together in protecting our common home.
Our staff and volunteers look forward to supporting you and your congregation in your efforts toward climate mindfulness and action.
In faith & hope,
Rev. Susan Hendershot, President
Our Covenant
To become a member of California Interfaith Power & Light, simply sign our covenant stating that your congregation will commit to one of the following principles and actions. There are no dues or other obligations. By becoming a member of CIPL, your congregation will be joining the statewide religious response to climate change. We have resources to share, connections to make, and volunteer opportunities for you to help advance climate justice in California.
Education
If we are to be faithful stewards of Earth, we must understand the profound ways in which humanity (more specifically: the 1%) is altering the climate, and to share that understanding with others. We commit to sharing that message both within and outside our congregation.
Sustainability
Our climate crisis has come from an unsustainable worldview that sees Earth as something to be exploited and discarded, rather than as a garden to be tended and nurtured for future generations. We commit to restoring “The Garden” by opposing profit based social relations, by reusing, recycling and reducing our consumption, and by aligning our financial resources with our environmental values, such as through fossil fuel divestment.
Reducing Pollution
The science is clear: climate change is caused by the massive amount of carbon pollution the profit-driven fossil-fuel-based economic system releases into the atmosphere every day. We commit to reducing our carbon footprint and transforming the social systems that are based on endlessly extracting fossil fuels. Infinite growth on a finite planet will never work.
Climate Justice
Climate change disproportionately affects the poor and those who have contributed the least to the problem, whether here in the U.S. or in the exploited and under-developed world. We commit to advocating for those hardest hit by climate injustice and to supporting the work these communities have been up to for many years.