Mid-Atlantic Alliance for Climate & Health, 2/1/22 sign-on letter

“As leaders and members of health professional and environmental organizations in Delaware, South Jersey, and Southeastern Pennsylvania, we have formed the Mid-Atlantic Alliance for Climate and Health. We join together to recognize the grave threat that the climate emergency poses to our patients and our neighbors in our entire region. We are here to bring the health perspective to climate issues, to support each other’s work, and to take action.” See letter HERE.

Mid-Atlantic Alliance for Climate & Health, 2/1/22 sign-on letter

Freedom to Vote Act – Letter delivered to Sens. Coon & Carper, signed by 43 prominent faith leaders, 12/9/21

“As faith leaders and faith-based advocates in the state of Delaware, we write to you today about the urgent need to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. We greatly appreciate your support for these two bills, but we urge you to actively support filibuster reform so that the bills can get passed and onto President Biden’s desk for a signature. As people of faith and as your constituents, we ask that you strongly and publicly support filibuster reform to pass the Freedom to Vote Act.”

SB2 - Community Solar, Signed 9/17/21

In order to lower the cost of energy and accelerate the adoption of community-based solar photovoltaic systems in the State, this bill eliminates current barriers to such systems and sets up a regulatory process to be implemented by the Public Service Commission with consumer protection provided by the Department of Justice.

DeIPL, sent letters to all legislators, signed by 45 faith leaders, urging support for this bill. “We are writing you today with a unified voice to urge your support of the Community Solar for All program, SB 2, legislation being introduced by Sen. Stephanie Hansen to make solar energy more equitably accessible and affordable - for our houses of worship, our congregants, and the communities we serve – and as one more critical step in addressing the health of our families, our communities, and our planet.”

For the People Act – 7/17/21

Gathering in Wilmington with partner advocates to celebrate the life of John Lewis and to urge Senators Coons and Carper to do whatever it takes to get the S.1, For the People Act, passed. The voting and election reforms in the bill, written by the late Rep. John Lewis, would set federal baseline standards of access for every eligible voter, regardless of where they live.

2021 Walk for our Grandchildren and Mother Earth, 6/27/21

Save the Earth for Our Grandchildren: A Dedication to Climate Action, DeIPL helped coordinate a gathering at Wilmington Friends Meeting to hear reflections from citizens who walked from Scranton to Wilmington; from local faith leaders, community leaders and youth leaders; from grandparents and grandchildren on the road to Climate Justice, seeking to build a health, sustainable and fossil-free world.

SB22 - Invasive Species Ban, signed 3/17/21 and takes effect July 1, 2022

This Act, signed with unanimous legislative support, prohibits the import, export, sale, transport, distribution, or propagation of any plant identified by the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, with the advice of the Delaware Native Species Commission, as an invasive plant. This Act also requires that plants identified as potentially invasive be sold with a tag that identifies the plant as potentially invasive. A violation of this Act may result in a civil penalty of $50 to $500, but only after the person has had the opportunity for an administrative hearing and the opportunity to come into compliance with this Act.

SB33 - Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard, signed 2/10/21

This Act modifies the Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards Act to do the following:

• Continues increasing the required minimum percentage of electrical energy sales to Delaware end-use customers from renewable energy sources through 2035.
• Makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.
• Eliminates “cost-cap” mechanism for freezing the RPS and replaces it with a market-based mechanism.
• Clarifies the rulemaking authority for this Act.

DeIPL provided remarks at the Energy & Climate Forum & House Natural Resources Committee:

“We urge your support of legislation to combat the causes and consequences of climate change and sea-level rise, boost a greener economy, and address inequities in access to affordable, clean, renewal energy sources.

With so many critical issues demanding our attention, our resources, our prayers and our prophetic discernment - coronavirus being so prominent – we cannot lose sight of the even greater threats of a warming planet. We have a moral obligation to understand and quantify

SB 250/SB 33, raising the Renewable Portfolio Standard and expanding Community Solar, May/June 2020

Extensive efforts to support legislation increasing the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) and expanding community solar opportunities, making it more affordable and accessible. DeIPL joined coalition efforts and coordinated a sign-on letter of 40 prominent faith leaders to support this legislation. The bill did not make it to the floor but separate bills for RPS and Community Solar were subsequently passed in 2021.

Delaware Interfaith Power & Light promotes offshore wind - 12/18/20

Letter in the Cape Cazette by John Sykes, Founder and board president
“More jobs, healthier air, lowered greenhouse gasses - that’s the win-win-win proposition of an offshore wind project for Delaware.”

Pastors: Delaware needs a strong Endangered Species Act, 8/23/19

Authored by two DeIPL board members

“Trump Administration has created new rules that will severely weaken the Act…As clergy, we have worked and will continue to work to save our native plants and animals. We are calling in confidence on our outstanding Congressional delegation — Senators Carper and Coons and Representative Blunt Rochester — to take leadership in rejecting these changes and overturning these regulations.”

SB 113 - Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), 8/29/18

PACE signing with Gov. Carney

Administered by the Sustainable Energy Utility to facilitate and provide a new financing mechanism for commercial energy efficiency projects through a voluntary assessment on property tax bills.

Hands Across the Sand, 5/19/18

“We gather today as part of a worldwide movement – Hands Across the Sand. This movement started 8 years ago in the wake of the BP Deepwater Horizon’s devastating oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and has turned into an annual, worldwide event. We join hands in our shared commitment to protect the world’s oceans; to show solidarity for a clean, healthy, sustainable energy future; and to oppose the Trump administration’s recent proposal to open over 90% of U.S. offshore regions to oil and gas exploration and development, including areas off this beautiful coastline.”

Offshore Oil Drilling Press Conference and Public Forum, 3/3/18

Local environmental organizations hosted press conference and public forum in opposition to offshore oil and gas drilling and testing.

“This administration has increasingly and systematically ignored our scientists, our engineers, our health professionals, our military and the concerns of a growing number of policy makers, business leaders, faith leaders and citizens from coast to coast...and around the world. This is irresponsible, indefensible and unconscionable…Beyond promoting the continuing burning of fossil fuels and contributing to climate change, offshore drilling and exploration risk the economic health of Delaware by threatening coastal communities and the many jobs our tourism industry supports.”

RPS testimony,
opposition to rollback of national environmental standards,

DeIPL opposition to appointment of Scott Pruitt to head the EPA, 2/3/17

Methane and Natural Gas Waste Rule, 2/3/17/strong>

Forty-Six Religious Organizations Call on Congress to Uphold BLM Natural Gas Waste Reduction Rule

“We write to urge you to uphold the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Methane and Natural Gas Waste Rule, a rule that not only curbs methane waste on public lands but safeguards human health and protects God’s creation. We urge you to vote no on the BLM Methane CRA Resolution.”

March for Science,
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative walking tour and support/ Equity Inclusion sign-on letter, Actions & Advocacy Fair, Lewes

DE Energy Efficiency Investment Fund Clean Power Plan
Green Climate Fund support,
Methane standards support
Transpacific Partnership (TPP) opposition

Climate change is a defining moral challenge for our times Op-Ed, 12/16/16

Pope Francis Encyclical
Climate Vigil – 9/23/15

Clean Power Plan & Green Climate Fund petitions, 9/29/15
Sent to Rep. Carney, Sen. Carper and Sen. Coons
“We, the undersigned, are encouraged by Pope Francis's moral call to protect the climate and all of Creation. We are gathered together on the eve of his address to Congress, to bring prayerful attention to this occasion and to pray that his words will move members of Congress to act to protect our climate.

Religious leaders address climate change as moral imperative, Cape Gazette – 6/28/15

Heat Health Warning System, 4/3/15
Letter to Gov. Markell on Government Inaction in Climate Change Adaptation
“All that is needed to put HHWS online is for Delaware to give the approval to NWS to instruct their forecasters to consult with HHWS when they do their forecasting, just like they already to in the Philadelphia area. It’s that simple, but it hasn’t happened, although HHWS has been ready for the past two years. Governor, we ask for your intervention and support on bringing this life- saving system to protect the health and lives of the citizen of this state begore another season passes.”

An important step toward the goal of protecting our climate and the most vulnerable people on the planet is the Green Climate Fund. We urge you to support the allocation of $500 million in the FY2016 budget for this $10 billion global fund which is critically needed to help low-lying island nations, drought-stricken African nations, and other developing countries prepare for climate impacts, invest in renewable energy, and build climate resilience.
Transpacific Partnership opposition