The latest UN Climate Report says the world has failed / will fail to keep global temperature rise at the 1.5 degree Celsius check we’ve been aiming for. The report urges immediate action to phase out fossil fuels and protect and grow climate allies like forests, oceans and natural carbon sinks or face climate catastrophe that exceeds our capacity to adapt. 

This is alarming news, but stay with me — this column is about hope. 

To paraphrase Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, the report says:

                                    “All is not lost. But we need a transformation.”

This transformation – from fossil fuels to something better – is increasingly time-sensitive. 

• Faster action matters.
• Bold deployment is necessary.
• We all play a part. 

The good news is that renewable energy is now the cheapest form of power production – and, if we do the work now, we get to benefit from the dividends more quickly and experience them for a longer-time into the future.

If someone asks me what they can do to fight climate change, my simple answer goes like this:

Work to ensure society doesn’t commit to new fossil fuel infrastructure. 

Investment in pipelines, gas plants, coal plants, new natural gas distribution lines, fleets of internal-combustion engine cars or trucks – these are costly investments that dig our climate hole deeper every day they operate as intended. 

From the state legislature to school boards to private companies, decision-makers must make fossil-free decisions at every turn. Our job is to let them know we need them to make the right choices, that we are watching, and that we care. A lot.  

(See the recent win we’re celebrating: PUC denies Minnesota Power new gas plant, for now.)

Make a plan to decarbonize your own life. Execute this plan as quickly as you can afford. 

• If you drive a car, when can you plan for that car to become electric?
• If you own a home, when should you swap out the gas furnace or boiler for a new electric heat-pump?
• If you cut grass or blow leaves, when can you turn to electric appliances and get off of gas?
• What sort of energy efficiency opportunities do you have in your home or congregation?

Most of us can’t do everything at once, but planning helps us investigate options, ask questions, search out resources, and execute the transition when the right time arrives. 

It also helps our collective knowledge grow, and allows us to figure out solutions that can pave the way for others.

MNIPL is committed to helping communities of faith, conscience, and spiritual or religious practice to decarbonize their buildings through solar, batteries, and energy efficiency. We’re also helping them become places of refuge and support for their neighbors to help take action to decarbonize and adapt.

The earlier we take action the better. Not just because it starts reducing emissions, but individual choices create a powerful message that green energy is our only future. 

If you can, help someone else decarbonize their life, too. 

Perhaps you already have an electric vehicle but want to help your grown children or grandchildren or neighbor save money on gas while benefiting our future world by reducing emission contributions from their existing combustion-engine cars or trucks

Perhaps you would like to help someone you know, or someone you don’t know, replace their gas stovetop with an induction one, to improve their indoor air quality while helping them transition off of natural gas. 

I won’t pretend that these are insubstantial gifts, and not everyone is in a position to do this. However, some people are. Spending money that they would otherwise give away later to help people decarbonize their lives now is an investment in our collective future. 

From solar panels and home batteries to heat-pumps and electric vehicles, these gifts leave a double-legacy. They help the beneficiary and they start reducing carbon emissions. They move our collective away from fossil fuels. 

There’s more, of course. Our work at MNIPL is to help understand the landscape and navigate it with partners to advance the transition to a better, climate stable future for all. We couldn’t do it without you. 

If you’d like to talk about any of the above, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’m at sara@mnipl.org

We are deeply grateful for your journeying with us.