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DEP outlines Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan, launches 20‑site public outreach tour
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Summary
Department of Environmental Protection staff presented the Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan, explained sector-based strategies (buildings, transportation, industry, power, waste, land use and cross‑cutting technologies), highlighted local success stories and announced a 20‑location outreach schedule for input on the 2027 plan.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) presented an overview of the Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan and said it will use public input to inform its 2027 update and related grant work.
DEP staff described the CAP as organized by sectors—built environment, transportation, industrial, fuel and gas systems, power generation, waste, land use and agriculture—and cross‑cutting technologies. Speaker 1 said the plan aligns a greenhouse‑gas inventory with sector priorities and that the next iteration is scheduled for 2027.
Naimul Islam, an energy program specialist with DEP—Energy Program Office, said the built environment accounts for about 12% of Pennsylvania's greenhouse‑gas emissions and listed efficiency retrofits, on‑site solar and improved air‑quality outcomes as priority strategies. He said transportation accounts for roughly 22% of emissions and called for expanded multimodal options, more light‑duty electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, and deployment of low‑carbon medium and heavy vehicles. He said industrial sources are the largest share at about 31% and emphasized electrification, process upgrades and fuel decarbonization.
Presenters highlighted community success stories as examples for local implementation. Speaker 1 described a school district project that supplies a school with energy from an on‑site solar field and uses that power for electric school buses while incorporating student learning, hydroponics and sustainable farming. The DEP presenter also cited Lancaster—City————————for green infrastructure work—bioswales, rain gardens and bumpouts—that reduced localized flooding and informed resilience planning.
DEP staff outlined technical‑assistance and financing programs: the Local Climate Action Plan (LCAP) assistance that pairs communities with university partners, a shared energy program manager option to help projects reach construction, an energy accelerator and low‑cost financing through a green bank, and a pilot community assistance hub that will provide hands‑on technical help to five communities initially.
To gather local input, DEP announced a 20‑location outreach tour that begins April 6 in Harrisburg (Wild Heart Ministries), continues across central and eastern Pennsylvania in April and May (York, State College, Reading, Lebanon, Gettysburg, Wilkes‑Barre, Lehighton, Allentown, Williamsport, Scranton, Philadelphia, Towanda) and runs a western Pennsylvania leg in June (St. Marys, Bradford, Oil City, Brookville, Pittsburgh, Indiana, Altoona). Staff said links to register would be shared in the chat and in follow‑up materials.
The DEP presentation closed with an invitation for local governments, nonprofit organizations and citizens to attend the climate conversations and provide firsthand accounts of flooding, heat‑island effects, energy affordability and other climate impacts that will inform the 2027 CAP.
