Webinar Recording: Local Climate Action Planning—Penn State and Municipal Partners Implementing Together
This webinar, which took place on June 28, 2023, provided an overview of the Local Climate Action Program (LCAP), a partnership initiative of the PA Department of Environmental Protection, Penn State’s Sustainability Institute, Penn State’s Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering, and ICLEI: Local Governments for Sustainability. While this webinar described a Pennsylvania-based program and related opportunities for PA municipalities, it will also give non-PA viewers an overview of an innovative program that could potentially be replicated in other states.
Link shared during the webinar:
Webinar Description: Local Climate Action Program Co-Directors, Dr. Peter Buck (Penn State Sustainability Institute), and Dr. Brandi Robinson (Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences), will describe the program during this one-hour webinar. The LCAP partners Penn State students with municipal and county governments to understand how Pennsylvania communities drive climate change and then ways they can draw down greenhouse gases and adapt to a changing climate. In the fall, students conduct a greenhouse gas inventory to count local contributions from transportation, residential, commercial, and industrial energy use, electricity production, solid waste, wastewater, agriculture, and other sources. In the spring, students’ complete projects the municipal or county partner prioritize. They can set up climate action and adaptation plans and processes, assist with community engagement, review ordinances, develop educational materials, and more.
Learn how municipalities can take advantage of this program, which is designed to train and assist local officials and community stakeholders on how to inventory and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through an engaged planning process facilitated by Penn State and other university faculty, staff, and students. Hear from community/students from the 2022 – 2023 cohort.
This webinar is hosted by the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development.