How Georgia Congregations Support Climate Solutions

Chapters

00:00 Welcome and Introduction to Drawdown Georgia 

02:04 GIPL’s Mission to Support Faith Communities 

07:20 Reverend Jenny Phillips: Stewardship, Net Zero, and Solar Disaster Response 

14:30 Maher Budeir: Building a Living Building at Roswell Community Masjid 

20:56 Joanna Kobylivker: Adamah ATL’s Climate and Youth Programs 

27:24 Why Faith Communities Are Positioned to Lead on Climate 

46:38 Overcoming Barriers and Political Hesitation 

58:25 Live Q&A: Funding, Rural Communities, and Resilience Hubs

Georgia congregations are playing a vital role in ensuring that climate solutions benefit all people, through a healthy environment, a stable climate, and resilient communities.

Drawdown Georgia co-hosted a conversation with Georgia Interfaith Power & Light (GIPL) to hear from representatives of three different faith communities about how their congregations across the state are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help solve for climate.

How Is the United Methodist Church Building Toward Net Zero?

Reverend Jenny Phillips of the General Board of Global Ministries shares the UMC’s commitment to net-zero emissions by 2050, and walks through how the church is replacing diesel generators with solar-powered disaster response trailers, including one already deployed in Valdosta, Georgia, following Hurricane Helene.

What Does a “Living Building” Mosque Look Like?

Maher Budeir of Roswell Community Masjid explains why the congregation is designing its next campus to meet the Living Building Challenge, one of the world’s most rigorous green building standards, incorporating reclaimed lumber from a 75-year-old barn and preserved green space for the community.

How Is Adamah ATL Connecting Jewish Tradition to Climate Action?

Joanna Kobylivker of Adamah ATL shares how the organization ties Jewish customs and holidays to environmental education, helps synagogues decarbonize through the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, and gives Jewish teens concrete tools to turn climate anxiety into action.

How Do Faith Communities Overcome Barriers to Climate Action?

The panel gets candid about real obstacles: the upfront cost of ambitious projects, the perception that climate change is a political topic, and the challenge of navigating new federal funding programs like direct pay. Their shared approach: meet people where they are, lead with values instead of politics, and celebrate small wins alongside big ones.

Whether you’re part of a congregation looking to get started or already leading a Green Team, this conversation offers practical, faith-rooted approaches to climate solutions that any community can adapt.

What You’ll Learn

• How GIPL helps Georgia congregations organize Green Teams and adopt the Drawdown Georgia solutions.
• How the United Methodist Church is deploying solar disaster response trailers across the Southeast.
• What it takes to design a mosque that meets the Living Building Challenge.
• How Adamah ATL’s Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition supports institutions at any stage of their climate journey.
• Practical, low-cost first steps for congregations, from eliminating styrofoam to rewilding green space.
• How faith leaders navigate political hesitation around climate conversations.
• Where to find funding for solar, heat pumps, energy audits, and resilience hub projects.

Continue reading in our companion blog to learn more about how these Georgia congregations are turning shared values into practical climate action.

Download the Interview Transcript

Prefer to read the conversation instead? Download the complete PDF transcript of this webinar to explore how Georgia’s faith communities are advancing climate solutions in their own words.