Climate/Environment
Take action with JCJ
Transform our energy infrastructure and protect our most vulnerable — and future generations
Join us as we mobilize Jewish communities and pro-democracy people of faith in support of solutions to climate change.
What’s the injustice?
Our planet stands on the brink of catastrophe. The most vulnerable face the greatest danger.
Sea levels are rising. Wildfires are becoming more frequent and costly. Storms are growing more violent. The world is quickly approaching an annual temperature rise that will trigger devastating changes to our environment with “rapid and far-reaching” consequences. According to the United Nations’ climate agency, we have less than a decade to reverse the most devastating impacts of climate change.
Our most vulnerable populations are already bearing the brunt of this crisis — and they will continue to suffer disproportionately until our approach to climate policy and sustainable infrastructure is transformed. In Los Angeles, more than half of all people who live within two miles of a toxic waste facility — and are thereby exposed more regularly to air, water, and toxic pollution — are people of color.
These systemic injustices lead to higher rates of asthma and other preventable diseases. The U.N. estimates that there will be hundreds of millions of “climate refugees” by 2050. In every country, climate change is fueling a vicious cycle, in which disadvantaged groups are experiencing greater exposure to environmental disaster, with higher rates of susceptibility and a lower capacity to cope and recover.
What we believe
We must transform our energy infrastructure to reverse climate devastation and rescue our planet.
From the Garden of Eden to the laws of war and peace, the Jewish tradition calls us to act as stewards of the earth and its environment. Today, that moral mandate demands urgent and bold action. We support efforts at every level of government to combat the negative impacts of climate change, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, invest in alternative energy sources, and protect vulnerable populations most affected by environmental injustices.
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Connections: Jewish Sources
God said: Take care not to spoil or destroy My world, for if you do, there will be no one to repair it after you. — Midrash Kohelet Rabba 7:13
And God took Adam and placed him the Garden of Eden to work it and guard it. — Genesis 2:5.
When in your war against a city you have to besiege it a long time in order to capture it, you must not destroy its trees, wielding the ax against them. You may eat of them, but you must not cut them down. Are trees of the field human to withdraw before you into the besieged city? Only trees that you know do not yield food may be destroyed; you may cut them down for constructing siegeworks against the city that is waging war on you, until it has been reduced. — Deuteronomy 20:19‑20