Texas Climate & Energy
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Texas is the largest energy-producing and energy-consuming state in the nation. Texas produces more electricity than any other state, generating almost twice as much as Florida, the second-highest electricity-producing state. Thus, Texas has a disproportionate impact on the ability of the U.S. and the global community to mitigate climate change. Texas also can be an energy justice leader, ensuring that energy production doesn’t harm vulnerable communities, and energy is available even to the marginalized.
Light and Life
Using the Public Utility Commission of Texas Sunset Review to Safeguard Texans’ Health and Wellbeing
The upcoming 2022-2023 Sunset review of the Public Utility Commission of Texas, offers a unique opportunity for Texas lawmakers to advance public health in the Lone Star State.
NEWS + LATEST UPDATES
Weather and Climate Disasters Threaten Church Property Insurance
Austin-based news station KXAN reported this week that dozens of United Methodist churches in Texas have found themselves struggling to find property insurance this year. Without property insurance, churches, many of whom have large and sprawling facilities, are...
Texas Interfaith Power and Light Methane Lent Series
In the Christian tradition, Lent is a time of reflection about the ways we have missed the mark and the ways we would like to do better in the next year. Texas Interfaith Power and Light has put together a Lenten series of reflections focused on the environmental...
Pipeline Safety Agency In Process of Updating Pipeline Rules
Yesterday I pulled up to the curb in front of a music studio where one of my children takes guitar lessons and noticed for the first time a sign posted in the grass in front of the building that indicated the presence of a gas pipeline under the property. I noticed...
Why Does Texas Railroad Commission Oppose EPA Methane Rule?
While Texas Impact staff were in Dubai at COP28 we celebrated the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) announcement of new, strong methane rules. As a reminder, the new methane rule requires oil and gas producers to stop methane leaks from their...
New Lunch and Learn Series Blends Scientific and Theological Education
What does the electromagnetic spectrum have to do with the Gospel? What does the West Antarctic Ice Sheet have to do with liberation theology? What does international climate finance have to do with the Greatest Commandment? At first glance it seems like physics,...
Final Stocktake Text Leads to Cheers, Concerns
After an earlier draft of the Stocktake text drew criticism from climate advocates, leaders of small island states, and others, negotiators went back to the drawing board, delaying the official end of COP28. After about twenty-four hours of tense negotiations, another...
Not the Stocktake Update We Were Looking For
The release of the most recent Stocktake draft at COP28 on December 11, 2023 brought immediate pushback and protest from climate advocates and scientists and in one case, a twelve year old climate activist from India who stormed the stage during a plenary to call for...
OPEC Head Pushes Members to Derail Climate Negotiations
In a twist pulled from the plot of a dystopian movie, news broke that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, known as OPEC, had distributed a letter instructing its member states to vote against any attempt to limit the production and use of fossil fuels...
Migration Put in Perspective
One of the interesting aspects of COP is its ability to put certain issues into perspective. Often US and Texas officials characterize migration as a foreign phenomenon, where political fragility or economic strife causes residents of the Global South to migrate to...
Urgent and Faithful Action Needed on Methane
There have been two big announcements about methane during COP28 in Dubai, UAE (see here for a detailed explanation of the climate impacts of methane emissions). First, a coalition of oil and gas producers announced at COP28 a pledge to stop methane leaks from...