This partner spotlight blog hopes to recognize one of our newest partners, New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light (NMIPL) — an organization that has been shining a light on the needs of our communities for many years. ReNew Mexico, virtually sat with Sr. Joan Brown to discuss their current work and how it intersects with our work here at ReNew Mexico!
Interfaith Power and Light is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to mobilize faith communities, faith leaders, and people of faith to work toward climate justice. They are driven by the core belief that the active care of the natural world is integral to spiritual life and social justice. Here in New Mexico, we are incredibly fortunate to have such an active and involved local chapter.
Their recent work has revolved around advancing renewable energy – both in practice and in policies – and addressing the use of our natural resources. A few prominent projects include Cool Congregations and the Forest of Bliss. The Cool Congregations work with green teams from many congregations and assist in accessing solar power for their Houses of Worship. Beyond the energy side, they also are involved with food accessibility which includes helping some churches–like St. Johns and the United Methodist–create community gardens, which provide food for their communities and local food pantries.
The Forest of Bliss campaign began in 2019 with the Sikh community planting trees to commemorate the anniversary of their founder. Since then, NMIPL has expanded the project to collaborate with the Turkish Muslim community, the City of Albuquerque, community organizations, and parks in an effort to collaboratively plant thousands of trees. Most recently, a few trees were planted in Graves Park to commemorate and honor those lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.
NMIPL’s policy work involves expanding energy efficiency and moving toward a just energy transition, especially as we work toward accomplishing the goals set by the ETA. (NMIPL was integral in the passing of the ETA, by the way!) They are also on the ground working to address the health needs and health impacts of energy production on the residents of the Permian Basin area.
Moving forward, NMIPL hopes to see a statewide effort to ensure a just and equitable transition toward a clean and diversified energy economy. They see prioritizing energy efficiency as an important step to reaching our goals and caring for our frontline and lower-income communities. NMIPL will continue building their Cool Congregations network, where Green Teams meet once a month to discuss and share ideas about energy efficiency and solar projects. If anyone is interested in getting involved with the Cool Congregations, planting trees for the Forest of Bliss, or weighing in on upcoming methane rules, NMIPL invites you to check their website here!