Religious leaders conducted a news conference with the co-sponsors of the Climate Security Act in support of federal regulation on greenhouse gases.

Reverend Jim Ball, president of the Evangelical Environmental Network and spokesman for the Evangelical Climate Initiative, joined representatives of other religious groups today in calling for improvement and passage of the Climate Security Act, S-2191.

The religious leaders conducted a news conference with the co-sponsors of the bill, Senators John Warner, R-Va., and Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., as well as Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., chair of the Senate Energy and Commerce Committee.

"Although the federal government must guide the policy toward a future with climate protection, the decisions that need to be made are not primarily political, they are spiritual and moral," said Ball.

Ball was not speaking on behalf of all Evangelical Christians. In an initiative launched last week, a group called "We Get It" wrote a letter to Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., asking him to help the poor by opposing further environmental regulations.

Evangelical Christian groups, though generally identified as politically conservative, have been increasingly active in environmentalist efforts in recent years. The National Association of Evangelicals in November announced plans to cut 10 percent of its energy use at each of its more than 300,000 houses of worship.