21,000 Evangelicals Petition For 100 Percent Renewable Energy In Indiana

A group of evangelicals in Indiana wants the state to expand wind and solar energy. The Evangelical Environmental Network delivered more than 21,000 signatures to Gov. Eric Holcomb Wednesday demanding 100% renewable energy in the state by 2030. 

“It gives [lawmakers] freedom to pursue solutions at the speed and scale that we need to address environmental pollution and the climate crisis,” says Rev. Kyle Meyaard-Schaap, director of outreach for the EEN.

The EEN calls itself a ministry that mobilizes christians to care for God’s creation, which includes the environment. It says Indiana’s reliance on coal led the United Health Foundation to rank the state near the bottom for air quality.

Jo Anne Lyon is a reverend at Wesleyan Church in Indianapolis. She says Jesus told his followers to care for the less fortunate.

“The poor are the first to suffer from the lack of clean energy such as pollution — which then brings on health risks,” Lyon says. 

The EEN hopes Indiana lawmakers will consider actions like adopting a renewable energy plan or making renewable energy portfolio standards mandatory.

The group says clean energy also employs more than four times as many Hoosiers as coal and natural gas.

Indiana Environmental reporting is supported by the Environmental Resilience Institute, an Indiana University Grand Challenge project developing Indiana-specific projections and informed responses to problems of environmental change.