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| National Interfaith Leadership Initiative on Climate Change | |
|---|---|
| Name | National Interfaith Leadership Initiative on Climate Change |
| Formation | 2006 |
| Founder | Interfaith Stewardship Alliance |
| Type | Nonprofit |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Region served | United States |
| Focus | Interfaith climate advocacy, education, policy |
National Interfaith Leadership Initiative on Climate Change The National Interfaith Leadership Initiative on Climate Change is an American coalition that brings together representatives from diverse religious traditions to address environmental stewardship and climate policy. Founded amid debates involving Pope Benedict XVI, Al Gore, Ansel Adams, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and advocacy groups such as Sierra Club and World Wildlife Fund, the Initiative sought to translate religious moral teachings into public engagement on climate change and environmentalism.
The Initiative emerged in the mid-2000s during dialogues that included leaders from United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Rabbinical Assembly, National Council of Churches, Islamic Society of North America, Buddhist Churches of America, and activists linked to Greenpeace USA and 350.org, reflecting influences from events like the 2005 Kyoto Protocol debates and the 2006 Stern Review. Early meetings convened at venues associated with Harvard Divinity School, Union Theological Seminary, Georgetown University, and facilities tied to Presbyterian Church (USA), drawing attention from figures connected to World Economic Forum, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life.
The Initiative's mission articulated a faith-based response aligning teachings from Roman Catholicism, Judaism, Islam, Eastern Orthodoxy, Hinduism, and Buddhism with policy priorities seen in documents like the Paris Agreement and analyses by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Goals included mobilizing clergy from institutions such as United Methodist Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and Unitarian Universalist Association to support renewable energy projects promoted by firms like Tesla, Inc. and policy frameworks advanced by actors like Environmental Protection Agency and lawmakers in the United States Congress.
The Initiative operated as a networked council with a steering committee modeled on governance seen in Amnesty International and Doctors Without Borders. Leadership comprised representatives from Episcopal Church (United States), African Methodist Episcopal Church, and lay leaders with affiliations to think tanks such as Brookings Institution and Center for American Progress. Advisory members included scholars from Yale University, Princeton University, and Stanford University, and clergy who had engaged with interfaith panels at United Nations sessions and at conferences hosted by Clinton Global Initiative.
Programs included faith-based climate education curricula distributed to seminaries at Vanderbilt University Divinity School, congregational carbon-reduction campaigns modeled on initiatives by Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and stewardship training comparable to programs run by National Audubon Society and Nature Conservancy. Initiatives sponsored pilgrimages and public liturgies inspired by work from activists associated with Greta Thunberg, Bill McKibben, and artistic collaborations with institutions like the Smithsonian Institution and the Metropolitan Museum of Art to raise awareness.
The Initiative engaged in lobbying and public comment processes similar to strategies used by Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council, submitting testimony to committees of the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives during deliberations over bills influenced by the Clean Air Act and proposals echoing Green New Deal framings. It coordinated faith-based sign-on letters with organizations such as Interfaith Power & Light and participated in coalitions that approached negotiators at United Nations Climate Change Conference meetings alongside delegations from European Union member states and representatives from Small Island Developing States.
The Initiative partnered with academic centers like Harvard Kennedy School, philanthropic entities including Ford Foundation and Open Society Foundations, and conservation NGOs such as World Resources Institute and Conservation International. Ecumenical and interreligious collaborations involved networks like Parliament of the World's Religions, Religions for Peace, and Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, enabling joint statements and campaigns alongside civic movements like March for Science and People's Climate March.
Supporters credited the Initiative with increasing faith-sector engagement in campaigns that influenced municipal policies in cities such as New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and with inspiring congregational conversions to renewable procurement through contracts with utilities linked to Iberdrola and NextEra Energy Resources. Critics from quarters associated with Heritage Foundation, American Enterprise Institute, and some evangelical networks argued the Initiative overstepped by endorsing specific policy prescriptions and aligning with partisan coalitions connected to figures in Democratic Party politics, while other scholars debated efficacy compared with secular NGOs like Friends of the Earth.
Category:Interfaith organizations Category:Climate change organizations in the United States