RAC-NY launches Climate Covenant: A RAC-NY Campaign to Combat Climate Change

RAC-NY Launches a New Kind of Multi-year Campaign to Combat Climate Change

RAC-NY is set to launch Climate Covenant: A RAC-NY Campaign to Combat Climate Change with Zoom gatherings on Tuesday, March 22, 7 -8:15 pm and Wednesday, March 23, 12 -1:15 pm. Register now for whichever Zoom gathering is most convenient for you.

Our Covenant with Future Generations and Our Covenant with Each Other

RAC-NY's number one priority this year - Climate change adversely affects all of us, through the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the land beneath our feet. Today, communities of color are suffering the worst consequences of global warming, which makes climate change another instance of racial injustice. Because people are a major cause of climate change, we call upon ourselves to make a covenant with future generations that we will not destroy the earth, following the rainbow that symbolized God's covenant with the Jewish people not to destroy the earth again after the flood (Genesis 9:13-16).

Individual action, like recycling and composting, is important, but it is not enough to end global warming. Today, we must come together as Reform Jews to make a covenant to act collectively across our movement and join with others across lines of race, faith, and class to end our dependence on fossil fuels and stop climate change. The stakes are high, and the potential benefit for all of us is great. It will take a broad and deep covenant with each other to make a real difference.

A New Kind of Campaign for RAC-NY

Climate Covenant is a new kind of campaign for RAC-NY. Unlike years past, the Climate Covenant will be a two- to three-year effort, which will allow us to reach deeper into our congregations and Reform communities to increase our ability to move more people into action to effectively combat climate change. While we will work on climate legislation in 2022, our top priority this year will be building our base of engaged individuals and communities, and thus our power, to make an even greater impact on climate change in future years.

A Calendar of What We Will Do Together in 2022

Our goal this year is to build a strong base of engagement and support so that we can do more to end climate change in future years. Here's our plan to do it:

• March 22 and 23: Covenant Campaign zoom launch - sign up for the March 22 session here and the March 23 session here.

• April and May: Work to pass the All Electric Building Bill S6843A (Kavanaugh)/ A8431 (Gallagher) or, if that passes in March through the budget process, another climate change bill. RAC-NY will meet with a few key legislators, and congregations will make phone calls and send emails to their state legislators.

• May 15 and 22: RAC-NY regional retreats where social justice leaders from different congregations will come together to get to know each other and strategize.

• Summer and Fall: RAC-NY will participate in the national Reform Movement campaign to overcome voter suppression and increase voter engagement in Black, Indigenous and People of Color communities that are underrepresented in the electorate, while continuing to recruit new supporters for the climate change covenant.

• October - December: Campaign leaders will host conversations in our congregations and communities about personal connections to climate change and what we can do together to combat it. This is an opportunity to reach out and involve people who have not been involved in RAC-NY and social justice before.

• July - December: Begin to strategize for the 2023 campaign, which will take on one of the big climate change questions, such as how the state will pay for the transition to a green economy or what more businesses, corporations and financial institutions can do to combat climate change.

What you can do now:

Here are three things you can do right now to become a part of the Climate Covenant:

• Sign up for one of the two identical Climate Covenant launch zooms on March 22 at 7 pm ET and March 23 at 12 pm ET.

• Reach out to others in your congregation to join you at one of the RAC-NY climate change launches. You can modify and send the sample email below.

• Save the date for the regional retreat near you on May 15 or 22 (see above for exact time and location).

Sample Email:

Climate change adversely affects all of us, through the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat and the land beneath our feet. Please join me as part of the [name of congregation or Reform Congregation] delegation for the zoom launch of Climate Covenant: A RAC-NY Campaign to Combat Climate Change Tuesday, March 22, 7 - 8:15 pm and Wednesday, March 23, 12 -1:15 pm. Individual action, like recycling and composting, is important, but it is not enough to end global warming. Today, communities of color are suffering the worst consequences of global warming, which makes climate change another instance of racial injustice. We must come together as Reform Jews and join with others across lines of race, faith, and class in joint action to end our dependence on fossil fuels and stop global warming.

Please let me know if you are able to join me for the launch of this important campaign and register now for whichever Climate Covenant zoom gathering is most convenient for you.