Substack Exclusive: Catholic Climate Covenant, other faith groups and orgs, deliver nearly 10,000 comments to EPA
This blog is a Substack exclusive, only published to the Covenant's Substack as exclusive content for our subscribers. Thank you for being our reader!
On Sept. 17, Catholic Climate Covenant, alongside other Catholic and faith-based organizations, gathered in Washington, D.C., to deliver nearly 10,000 public comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), urging the agency to retain the Endangerment Finding. The event was organized in response to the EPA’s proposal to repeal the finding, which serves as the legal basis for regulating greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act.
Participants from nine faith organizations took part in the delivery, which included a bike ride pilgrimage and a prayer service outside EPA headquarters. The comments were submitted as part of the required public input process and reflect widespread concern among religious communities about the potential rollback.
The multi-faith coalition included Catholic Climate Covenant, Franciscan Action Network, Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, Laudato Si’ Movement – North America, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Sisters of Mercy, Ignatian Solidarity Network, Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns, the National Religious Partnership for the Environment, and over 4,000 Black church leaders.
“Standing together with leaders from a multi-faith background is a powerful witness that shows care for climate is important to many communities,” said Kayla Jacobs, Policy Advisor for Catholic Climate Covenant. “The Endangerment Finding needs to be protected for the sake of the earth and for human health.”
Catholics submitted approximately 4,400 comments — nearly half of the total — including a significant number of comments from women religious. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) also submitted a formal 15-page comment opposing the repeal, citing the Church’s commitment to environmental justice and the integrity of the scientific evidence underlying the Endangerment Finding.
“This delivery of comments to the EPA represents voices from Catholic and other faith communities across the country who oppose repealing the 2009 Endangerment Finding,” Covenant Executive Director Dan Misleh said. “The scientific record supports the need for the finding, and the public-health consequences of reversing it would be significant.”
Misleh also testified to the EPA against the rescission of the Endangerment Finding. You can read the script of his testimony here.
Originally issued in 2009 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2007 decision in Massachusetts v. EPA, the Endangerment Finding established that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health and welfare. It has since provided the foundation for federal climate regulations on vehicle emissions, power plants, and other sources.
The proposed repeal is part of what EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has described as the most extensive deregulatory effort in the agency’s history. Public comment on the proposed rule closed on September 22.
A recent report by the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine reaffirmed the validity of the Endangerment Finding, concluding that the evidence of harm from human-caused greenhouse gas emissions is “beyond scientific dispute.”
The EPA is currently reviewing submitted comments before issuing a final decision.
This blog is a Substack exclusive, only published to the Covenant’s Substack as exclusive content for our subscribers. Thank you for being our reader!