Press Release - Readout of Listening Session with Faith Community Leaders

Interior Secretary-designate Deb Haaland, Energy Secretary-designate Jennifer Granholm, EPA Administrator-designate Michael Regan, and CEQ chair-designate Brenda Mallory held a virtual roundtable Tuesday evening with faith leaders from across the country to discuss working together on climate and environmental justice issues.

The roundtable discussion allowed the different faith leaders, who all have a deep and vested interest in these issues, to share their vision and priorities for combating climate change and how they can work hand in hand with the incoming nominees to battle this existential threat.

The nominees reiterated the commitment that President-elect Biden has made to address environmental injustice, and shared that building back better requires us to focus on equity. The conversation ranged on topics, but always came back to the moral imperative to address climate change and to invest in communities that have experienced a disproportionate share of pollution.

The conversation also highlighted the economic opportunities that come with combating climate change, including millions of good-paying union jobs and unprecedented clean energy investments in disadvantaged communities.

The list of attendees included:

• Galen Carey, National Association of Evangelicals
• Shantha Ready Alonso, Creation Justice Ministries
• Huda Alkaff, Wisconsin Green Muslims
• Chris Elisara, World Evangelical Alliance (WEA)
• Cassandra Carmichael, National Religious Partnership for the Environment
• Jonah Pesner, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism
• Richard Coll, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
• Jim Ball, Evangelicals For Biden
• Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker, AME CHURCH - Social Action Commission