Climate in the Pulpits: Vote & Commit to Climate Justice

This fall, through a partnership between Interfaith Power & Light (DC.MD.NoVA), Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, and Virginia Interfaith Power & Light, pastors, rabbis, imams, and other clergy in faith communities across the region will be raising up voting as part of their sermons at weekly services and through other learning programs. Faith communities are invited to participate on or around the weekend of October 2-4, 2020. To learn more, find resources, and sign up click here.

Looking for a way to participate? There's still time! Consider sharing our Pledge to Vote Your Values with your faith community.

2021 Fairfax to Zero Advocacy Priorities E-book

This 32-page booklet lays out our 11 top advocacy priorities for the county, our public schools, and the state. We organize advocacy teams in Fairfax County, Arlington County, and the City of Alexandria. Advocacy priorities include: 

• Decreasing the Energy Burden for Low-Income Housing
• Reducing the Waste Stream
• Protecting and Increasing Our Tree Canopy
• Modernizing Our Building Codes
• Transitioning to Clean and Equitable Transportation
• Accelerating EV Adoption
• Converting to Electric School Buses
• Attaining Net-Zero Schools
• Creating a Strong Climate Resilience Plan
• Establishing a Green Bank
• Breaking Down Barriers to Small-Scale Solar

2020 FACS Advocacy Training

Did you miss the advocacy training last month? Watch it here! Learn how FACS advocacy teams work, how we structure our meetings, and why local action on the climate crisis is so important. New advocacy team members are always welcome!

Fairfax County Funds Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Plan 

At the September 29th Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting, $1 million was approved through the use of FY2021 carryover funding in support of the Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Plan (CARP). The CARP will address direct climate impacts to Fairfax County, including higher temperatures and heat waves, colder temperatures, blizzards, superstorms, changes to precipitation patterns or events, flooding (coastal, tidal, riverine, and inland) and sea level rise. The plan will examine how county government, utilities and authorities, businesses and residents can prepare for these impacts as they grow more intense and frequent over time.

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Listen to Rev Jean Wright's, FACS Co-Chair, testimony in support of funding the CARP. 

"CECAP, the Community-Wide Energy and Climate Action Plan, though essential, is NOT a CARP. It is a carbon reduction plan. Mr. Kambiz Agazi, Director of the Office of Environmental and Energy Coordination shared, in his June presentation to the Environmental Committee that CECAP is only part of the answer. The other part is the proposed CARP that will, he said, "..respond to and recover from climate disruptions and prepare for anticipated hazards.” "

Fairfax County Office of Environment and Energy Updates

At the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting, the board also approved in its carryover budget funding of the following initiatives: $4.5 million for the County Operational Energy Strategy, $1.8 million for the LED program, and $.75 million for electric vehicles. The CECAP Task Force met on September 30th to vote on goals. FACS has advocated for a carbon neutrality goal plus and absolute carbon reduction goal. The next meeting of the Environment Committee will be held on Tuesday, October 27th at 11:00 a.m.