FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Katie Zakrzewski | katie@catholicclimatecovenant.org | 501-618-0234
September 15, 2025
Washington, D.C. — Over a dozen multi-faith organizations have worked together to collect nearly 10,000 comments from various religious congregations across the country, asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) not to rescind the Endangerment Finding.
The organizations, including Catholic Climate Covenant, Franciscan Action Network, Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, Laudato Si’ Movement – North America, NETWORK, the Sisters of Mercy, Ignatian Solidarity Network, National Religious Partnership for the Environment, Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns, as well as thousands of Black church leaders, have been working with their supporters to collect comments to deliver to the EPA on Sept. 17.
These groups will participate in a bike ride pilgrimage in Washington D.C. on Sept. 17 to the EPA headquarters at 1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW and will hold a prayer service outside of the building before hand delivering the 9,200 comments.
The Endangerment Finding provides the scientific and legal foundation for EPA regulation of climate pollution, as well as the rolling back of greenhouse gas emissions standards for cars and trucks. This proposal would allow toxic pollution from vehicles, power plants, and other sources to go unchecked, erode life-saving public health protections, and set the stage for irreversible harm to God’s creation.
4,371 leaders in the Black church also wrote a statement to accompany their signatures to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin.
“We, the undersigned 4,371 leaders in the Black church, unequivocally affirm that climate change and greenhouse gas pollution is one of the greatest public health and moral crises facing not just our communities but our country,” the statement said. “The cost of this decision by the EPA will be paid for in human lives — and Black bodies will bear the brunt of the burden. Regardless of income, Black Americans are more likely to live near highways and industrial corridors where air quality is worse and live in flood-prone and heat-vulnerable areas. We are also less likely to have access to disaster recovery support when needed. This action by the EPA would put Black communities at further risk.”
“The proposal to rescind the Endangerment Finding is a moral failure and an abandonment of EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment,” said Rev. Michael McClain with the National Religious Partnership for the Environment. “This decision will be paid for in human lives — and Black bodies will bear the brunt of the burden. Thousands of Black Church leaders joined with other faith leaders to demand justice for God’s creation and God’s people by halting this ill-advised proposal.”
Nora Collins, the Director for Campaigns and Creation Care at Franciscan Action Network, said, “The proposal to repeal the endangerment finding is a denial of who we are as individual persons and in community — deeply connected and called to delight in profound kinship with each other and all of creation. To protect life and for the flourishing of all life, we must stop this repeal.”
“The Endangerment Finding is the foundation that establishes the scientific truth that greenhouse gas emissions released by fossil fuels cause harm,” Rabbi Jennie Rosenn, founder and CEO of Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action, said. “It’s the bedrock upon which the EPA can fulfill its mission: ‘to protect human health and the environment.’ Repealing the Finding is like tossing out the Ten Commandments. They are not only denying something that’s fundamentally true about the world, but have eliminated what enables our government to live and act in alignment with our core values.”
“As Franciscans, we feel a deep kinship with all of creation,” said Michele Dunne, OFS, Executive Director of Franciscan Action Network. “We need the endangerment finding rules to protect life and promote the Earth’s flourishing as our common home. We are called to do more and better together, not end lifesaving protections.”
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About Catholic Climate Covenant
Catholic Climate Covenant is a national U.S. nonprofit founded with the support of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2006 that inspires and equips U.S. Catholics and institutions to care for creation together. Through 20 national partners, we guide the U.S. Church’s response to climate change and integral ecology through faith-driven education, advocacy, and resources.
