The denomination helped launch the environmental justice movement in the 1980s, and the Rev. Benjamin Chavis, Jr., a UCC minister, is believed to have coined the phrase \u201cenvironmental racism,\u201d [the Rev. Brooks] Berndt said.<\/p>\n
More recently, the UCC became the first denomination to call for divestment from fossil fuels, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen the Green New Deal came out, we immediately saw this as reflecting the values and the commitments that we\u2019ve been holding dear for all these many years,\u201d Berndt said.<\/p>\n
The Green New Deal \u2014 introduced in the House in February by Ocasio-Cortez \u2014 aims to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, build smart power grids, update buildings to be more efficient and train workers for jobs in a new \u201cgreen\u201d economy over the next 10 years.<\/p>\n
The UCC resolution framed its support for the legislation in terms of faith.<\/p>\n