Advocating for Our Neighbors and All Creation 2025 General Assembly Legislative Priorities

Virginia Interfaith Power & Light (VAIPL) seeks to partner with faith communities from every tradition across Virginia to advocate for climate and environmental justice. Our extractive economy threatens the planet with its continued dependence on burning fossil fuels for electricity, transportation, and food production. While considerable investments in renewable energy generation have made progress through federal initiatives over the past two years, we are experiencing renewed backlash from the fossil fuel sector to expand drilling, pipelines, and coal production.

We know these activities are causing rapid climate change because they release heat-trapping greenhouse gases and pollution into our atmosphere, damaging our climate and hurting our water and air quality. We have seen devastating severe weather events across the globe destroying livelihoods, killing crops, and forcing people from their homes. The human and economic costs are unsustainable. People of conscience must use whatever influence they have to counter the status quo in the energy sector.

Since Virginia made progress in 2020, passing legislation putting Virginia on the path to 100% renewable energy by 2050, codifying environmental justice as the state’s policy, and joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, we have seen monumental efforts to thwart holding polluters accountable. We have spent our last three General Assembly sessions defending against legislation to undermine the transition to renewable energy sources that reduce carbon emissions and other greenhouse gases. We prevented much of the good progress and setbacks to the 2050 goals.

During the 2025 General Assembly, VAIPL will continue to prioritize environmental justice and defend the health of all of Virginia’s residents to maintain our quality of life. We support the following policy goals:

Protect the health of all Virginians statewide by offering the option for a healthy communities strategy for our “localities’ and municipalities’ comprehensive planning

Increase Virginian’s access to affordable solar electricity for use in their home

The institution of legislation to address cumulative impacts on frontline and fenceline communities

Advocate for energy efficiency study for solutions and standards for low-wealth renters and owners 

Protect the reduction of greenhouse gases in all industry sectors, especially in the energy and transportation sectors 

Advocate for rejoining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)

Defend the Virginia Clean Economy Act (VCEA) & Virginia Environmental Justice Act

Defend against legislation to repeal clean car standards

We will update this document with specific bill numbers and links once available. Please check back often for updates.