NEWS RELEASE: January 22, 2020
Faith Voices Pray for Automakers Siding with Trump Against the Clean Air Act Outside the DC Auto Show
Religious leaders address automakers from a moral standpoint, speaking for those most vulnerable to air pollution and the need to protect clean air and clean car standards
OAKLAND, CA and WASHINGTON, D.C. — Faith leaders will congregate outside the Washington DC auto show on Thursday, January 23 at 8:00 AM to pray that automakers make the right choice to withdraw from the Trump administration’s lawsuit targeting key portions of the Clean Air Act and drop their support to roll back important clean car standards.
The prayer session, led and organized by Interfaith Power & Light, will deliver a message to automakers on behalf of thousands of people of faith from across the country who are calling on Toyota, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler, among others, to make the right moral choice for vulnerable communities – children and the elderly, the sick and the poor who are disproportionately impacted by transportation pollution – to stop fighting clean car and air pollution standards.
Last year, Interfaith Power & Light delivered a petition, signed by more than 4,000 people of faith and over 700 clergy and faith leaders, to Ford Motor Company headquarters and a number of Ford dealerships across the country calling on the automaker to support clean car standards. A month later, Ford joined a voluntary agreement to uphold clean car state authority granted by the Clean Air Act and continue to reduce emissions from its products. Honda, Volkswagen and BMW also signed, splitting the auto industry.
WHO:
- Rev. Susan Hendershot president of Interfaith Power & Light
- Marianne Comfort, Justice Educator, Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
- The Rev. Karen Brau, Senior Pastor, Luther Place Church
- Joelle Novey, executive director, Interfaith Power & Light (DC, MD, Northern VA)
WHAT: Prayer event outside of the Washington, DC, auto show to calling on automakers to make the right moral choice on clean air and clean cars. Speakers and prayer attendees will wear clerical attire.
WHEN: January 23, 2020 at 8am ET
WHERE: 700 M Street NW, Mount Vernon Square/Convention Center Metro Entrance
