Tag Archives: climate change

Permitting Reform Done Right

Permitting Reform Done Right

 

We Have the Opportunity to Serve People and the Planet, Not More Fossil Fuels

Drake Starling
October 21, 2025

 

This fall, one of the most pressing environmental debates in Congress will center on permitting reform – how, and how quickly, our country approves energy projects like pipelines, transmission lines, and renewable energy facilities. At first glance, “permitting reform” might sound like bureaucratic jargon. But what’s at stake are the health of our communities, the integrity of our democracy, and the future of our climate. 

What Is Permitting Reform?

Federal permitting rules—especially under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)—require agencies to review the environmental and community impacts of major projects before shovels hit the ground. They ensure that new projects don’t poison water, destroy sacred lands, or trap entire regions in decades of fossil fuel pollution. They are also one of the only tools of Indigenous Nations and local communities to demand consultation and protect their rights. 

Some lawmakers argue that these safeguards take too long and stand in the way of building more clean energy infrastructure. But too often, “reform” proposals that claim to “fast-track renewables” also open the door for more oil and gas pipelines, petrochemical plants, and mining projects that cause harm. Without careful attention, “permitting reform” risks becoming a cover for environmental rollbacks. 

Why It Matters for Climate Justice

If designed thoughtfully, permitting reform could be part of the solution to climate change – helping us rapidly expand wind, solar, and transmission lines needed to replace polluting power plants. But if designed poorly, it could lock us into decades of additional fossil fuel extraction, disproportionately harming low-income communities and communities of color who already live on the frontlines of pollution. 

This is why NETWORK insists that climate justice must guide any reform. Catholic Social Justice reminds us that every person has the right to clean air, safe water, and a healthy environment. Sacrificing communities for the sake of speed is not progress – it is injustice. 

Permitting reform isn’t just about today’s projects. It’s about the world we are building for our children and grandchildren. The choices Congress makes this fall will determine whether future generations inherit cleaner air, thriving ecosystems, and resilient communities or a planet scarred by short-sighted extraction and political expediency. As people of faith, we are called to be good ancestors: to plant trees whose shade we may never sit under, to safeguard creation so that tomorrow’s children can breathe freely, drink safely, and live with dignity on a planet that still feels like home.

Congress will decide whether our children will inherit a clean planet or one scarred by extraction and political expediency.NETWORK’s Priorities

As Congress considers proposals this fall, NETWORK will continue to stress three core principles: 

  • Protect Communities: Any permitting reform must strengthen—not weaken—requirements for environmental review and community consultation, especially with Tribal Nations and frontline communities. 
  • Prioritize Clean Energy: Reforms should speed up the build-out of renewables and transmission, not lock in new fossil fuel projects. 
  • Advance Justice: True reform must advance racial and environmental justice by addressing the legacy of pollution and disinvestment in communities of color. Places like Anacostia in D.C. and “Cancer Alley” in Louisiana deserve clean air, safe water, and a say in decisions that affect their health and future – not to be treated as sacrifice zones for industry. 
What You Can Do: Call on Congress 

Now is the time to make your voice heard. Members of Congress need to hear clearly: Permitting reform should only move forward if it speeds the clean energy transition – not if it expands fossil fuel infrastructure. Our leaders must not be swayed by industry lobbyists who want to use “reform” as a backdoor for more pipelines and polluting projects. 

You can help by contacting your Senators and Representatives and urging them to: 

  • Support permitting reforms that accelerate renewable energy deployment and modernize the electric grid. 
  • Oppose any effort to weaken NEPA or roll back environmental reviews that protect public health and ensure community input. 
  • Reject reforms that lock us into decades of fossil fuel dependence. 

Together, we can shape a permitting system that truly serves the common good. 

A Vision of Permitting Reform Rooted in Justice 

Permitting reform is not simply a policy debate; it is a moral question. Will we allow fossil fuel companies to weaken protections in the name of “progress”? Or will we ensure reforms truly serve the common good, speeding the transition to renewable energy while safeguarding health, land, and water for generations to come? 

This fall, NETWORK will be urging Congress to choose the latter: a vision of permitting rooted in justice, consultation, and care for creation. Together, we can make sure the road to clean energy is paved not with shortcuts for polluters, but with pathways to justice. 

Register for NETWORK’s Next Webinar: Protecting Creation: Federal Rollbacks, Legislative Action, and Faith in Climate Justice

Tuesday, October 28, 2025 at 7:00 PM EDT
Link to attend this virtual event will be emailed upon RSVP. RSVP here.

Season of Creation graphic image

Recommit to Our Common Home

Recommit to Our Common Home

Season of Creation is a Time to Renew Our Relationship with God’s Earth

 

Drake Starling
September 5, 2025

Every year, from September 1 to October 4, Christians around the world unite in prayer, reflection, and action for the Season of Creation. This ecumenical season, beginning with the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation and ending on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, invites us to deepen our awareness of the urgent ecological crisis and to recommit ourselves to caring for our common home.

Why This Season Matters

 This year’s theme, “To Hope and Act with Creation,” calls us to more than reflection – it calls us to courage. Hope is not wishful thinking but a spiritual practice rooted in action. As people of faith, we cannot be passive as rising global temperatures, polluted waters, and disappearing species diminish the sacred gift of life. Instead, we are called to embody hope by living in right relationship with one another and with all creation. Season of Creation graphic

The Season of Creation is more than a time of prayer; it is a prophetic witness. As Pope Francis told us in Laudato Si’, “We are not God. The earth was here before us and it has been given to us.” Our responsibility is to ensure that future generations inherit a world capable of sustaining all forms of life. 

Many political leaders choose inaction in the face of climate disasters and, worse, pursue harmful policies that promote extractive industries and eliminate essential environmental protections. They disregard and exploit nature, most of the time because it enriches companies and wealthy donors. We are called to remind our leaders that creation is not a commodity but a sacred trust. 

Moving Forward

 Throughout this season, communities around the world are finding creative ways to bring the message of creation care to life:

  • Hosting prayer services outdoors, reminding us that creation itself is a cathedral. 
  • Leading educational forums on the climate crisis and Catholic Social Justice teaching. 
  • Organizing acts of advocacy– urging lawmakers to defend clean air, protect public lands, and invest in renewable energy. 
  • Choosing lifestyle changes – reducing waste, conserving water, and supporting sustainable practices in our daily lives.
  • Taking action with NETWORK – signing up for NETWORK’s alerts to engage in advocacy opportunities. Right now, that includes speaking out in the EPA’s Endangerment Finding Public Comment Period. This recent NETWORK analysis addresses the Trump administration’s move to rescind Endangerment Finding. Add your name here and tell the EPA to keep the Endangerment Finding and protect our air, water, and our climate. The Comment Period closes September 22, so make sure to make your views known this Season of Creation! 

Each of these actions, large or small, is part of a larger movement of ecological conversion – recognizing that the cry of the Earth and “the cry of the poor” are one and the same. 

Journey of Hope 

 One particularly meaningful way to embody this year’s call is through Pilgrimages of Hope for Creation, a national initiative where Catholics and faith communities journey together in prayerful solidarity with the Earth. From parish grounds to city streets, these pilgrimages offer a tangible way to pray with our feet, build community, and take steps—literally—toward a more just and sustainable world (learn more here). 

This Season of Creation, let us embrace hope as action. Whether we join a pilgrimage, organize an event in our parish, or speak up for stronger environmental protections, each step we take is part of a greater journey of faith. Together, rooted in the Spirit and in Catholic Social Justice teaching, we can witness to the truth that care for creation is care for life itself. 

After the Budget Bill: What’s at Stake for Our Common Home — and How We Respond

After the Budget Bill: What’s at Stake for Our Common Home — and How We Respond

Drake Starling
July 18, 2025

From the coasts of California to the coalfields of Appalachia, from Midwestern farms to Gulf Coast towns, families across the country want the same things: clean air, safe water, a livable planet, and a future full of opportunity. That’s why, in 2022, communities of faith and frontline advocates alike came together to help push the historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) across the finish line—bringing with it groundbreaking investments in clean energy, environmental justice, and climate resilience.

But now, much of that progress is on the chopping block. The budget reconciliation bill that just narrowly passed in Congress rolls back key provisions of the IRA, gutting investments in clean energy, rescinding funds for frontline communities, and stalling the just transition we’ve fought for. Why? Because the Republican lawmakers who backed this bill chose to prioritize the profits of fossil fuel executives over the well-being of their constituents. This bill isn’t about fiscal responsibility—it’s about letting polluters off the hook.

In the wake of Congress passing the budget reconciliation bill, we at NETWORK are reflecting on the devastating toll this legislation takes on our environment — and the people and communities who bear the brunt of environmental harm. We know the true cost of this bill: polluted air, unsafe water, and a dangerous step backward in the fight to protect our climate.

A Blow to Clean Energy and Creation Care

The budget reconciliation bill strips away billions in clean energy investments that were once made possible through the historic Inflation Reduction Act. These investments supported wind and solar energy projects, domestic clean manufacturing, and affordable electricity for millions of families. Now, with clean energy tax credits rolled back and critical funding rescinded from the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, we face the chilling prospect of stalled innovation and rising energy costs, especially for low-income households.

Clean Water Under Threat

The reconciliation bill also rescinds funds meant to improve water infrastructure and protect communities from toxic pollution. The backers of this bill gutted grants to replace lead pipes, clean up PFAS contamination, and address long-standing water inequities in marginalized communities. This decision endangers public health and disproportionately harms communities of color, Tribal nations, and rural families already facing unsafe drinking water.

Sacrificing Clean Air for Corporate Polluters

Perhaps most abhorrent is the bill’s attack on clean air. The bill’s backers slashed the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget and eliminated programs designed to reduce carbon emissions and monitor air pollution near schools and ports. They also weakened enforcement of the methane emissions fee—a critical tool for reducing one of the most potent greenhouse gases—and offered new giveaways to fossil fuel CEOs under the guise of “permitting reform.”

Our Faith Calls Us to Respond

At NETWORK, we believe in a government that protects the dignity of all people and cares for our Common Home. The decisions made in this budget bill are not just policy choices — they are moral choices. Pope Francis was clear: “The climate crisis is not merely an environmental issue; it is a social issue.” But once again, the lawmakers voting for this bill were willing to sacrifice our communities—our health, our economic stability, and our futures—all in the name of profit and corporate greed.

What We’re Doing Now

We’re not standing idly by. In response to this dangerous legislation:

  • We are mobilizing our faith partners to act boldly, including through writing op-eds and letters to the editor and holding district meetings with lawmakers who supported these cuts.
  • We are defending what’s left of the Inflation Reduction Act by lobbying Congress to protect and restore funding for clean energy tax credits, energy efficiency programs, and environmental justice initiatives.
  • We are educating our supporters and all people of goodwill through webinars, briefings, and faith-based materials that explain what’s at stake — and how our Catholic values compel us to act.
  • We are building coalitions with environmental, labor, and faith-based partners to resist further rollbacks and to demand a just transition to a clean energy economy that centers workers and frontline communities.

This moment is difficult, but it is not the end. We are grounded in hope, fueled by faith, and committed to justice. Together, we will continue to advocate for policies that protect creation and promote the dignity of all people.

NETWORK Lobby's blog ends with an image that reads Act Boldly, Act UrgentlyTake Action

Contact your elected officials. Tell them that slashing climate, clean air, and clean water funding is unacceptable. Urge them to reject future rollbacks and to support legislation that heals both people and the planet.

Because justice demands it. And faith compels it.