GreenFaith

History

GreenFaith was founded in 1992 under the name Partners for Environmental Quality by Jewish and Christian leaders who believed the religious community needed an organization to connect religious traditions and the environment. ¹ Partners for Environmental Quality’s early work included promoting weather-dependent energy in religious institutions; holding conferences on the environment for religious, academic, government, and business leaders; and conducting an environmental health and justice tour in Newark, New Jersey regarding environmental protection in urban neighborhoods. ²

In early 2000s, the organization changed its name to GreenFaith. ³

Positions

GreenFaith has called for a global recovery from COVID-19 that invests in a transition to 100 percent weather-dependent energy and creates millions of so-called green jobs to remake the world. ⁴ GreenFaith supports faith-based programs for divestment from conventional energy and provides guidance on launching a divestment campaign in local communities. ⁵ A GreenFaith employee disrupted the 2023 CERAWeek Energy Conference by demanding an end to conventional fuels. ⁶

GreenFaith is against oil drilling projects and approving new pipelines. ⁷ GreenFaith has called on people of faith to sign onto a letter to implement a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty that would end the expansion of any new coal, oil or gas production; phase-out existing production of fossil fuels; and transition to a 100 percent global access to renewable energy. ⁸

Opposition to Nuclear Energy

In December 2021, Greenfaith was one of more than 100 groups co-signed an open letter opposing the nuclear power production tax credits offered in HR 5376, the House of Representatives draft of the Build Back Better Act. The groups identified nuclear power as a one of several “unproven and unnecessary technologies” and “harmful energy sources” that “would extend demand for fossil fuels.” ⁹

Nuclear power plants produce no carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gas emissions, and as of 2021 accounted for 20 percent of American electricity production—the largest source of zero carbon electricity in the United States. ¹⁰  An October 2018 proposal from The Nature Conservancy noted that zero-carbon nuclear plants produced 7.8 percent of total world energy output and recommended reducing carbon emissions by increasing nuclear capacity to 33 percent of total world energy output. ¹¹

Programs

GreenFaith urges religious institutions to use religious holidays to promote left-of-center messages of climate justice. ¹² GreenFaith sponsors a multi-faith climate finance campaign that urges banks and asset managers to end support and investment in the conventional energy industry. ¹²  GreenFaith is a co-founder of Shine, a “gender-just” organization advocating for women-led weather-dependent energy advocacy. ¹³

The organization seeks creation of GreenFaith Circles to spread left-of-center environmentalism by providing training on how to build a Circle; how to identify people, faith-based groups, and others to connect supporting GreenFaith; asking for one-on-one conversations with at least five local people to get people involved; teaching GreenFaith’s mission, values, and theory of change; and planning a kickoff to form a Circle. ¹⁴

GreenFaith runs a Fellowship Program that provides education and training to religious leaders on climate and environmental leadership. ¹⁵ In 2020, GreenFaith provided a Compassionate Voter Campaign Organizing Guide for religious people and leaders to ensure people are registered to vote, able to cast ballots, and train moral observers to identify voter suppression. ¹⁶

GreenFaith supported a September 2023 march in New York City to call on President Joe Biden to reverse decisions on drilling and pipeline projects and was present for environmental panels at the 2023 Parliament of the World’s Religions. ¹⁷

Finances

In 2021, the GreenFaith had net assets of $392,372. ¹⁸ According to the organization’s tax returns, in 2021 GreenFaith recorded $2,139,236 in revenue and $1,710,835 in expenses. ¹⁸ In 2020, GreenFaith raised $1,966,982 in revenue and had $2,058,851 in expenses. ¹⁹

Leadership

Fletcher Harper has been executive director of GreenFaith since 2002. ²⁰ From 1997 through 2002, Harper was the rector at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Bergen County, New Jersey. ²⁰ Harper was rector at All Saints Episcopal Church in Bergen County from 1992 until 1996. ²¹ He has a Master of Divinity from Union College and a bachelor’s degree in history and American Studies from Princeton University. ²²