​PA Climate Network Best Practices

The Pennsylvania Climate Change Mitigation and Resilience Network (PA Climate Network) aims to serve as a trusted hub for sharing best practices and advancing climate education and literacy throughout the state for all Pennsylvanians. The resources below have been identified as useful tools to support climate action and to build knowledge of key climate and resiliency issues in Pennsylvania.

This list will continue to evolve as the Network gathers more resources and members. The following resources are organized by resource provider, which includes several state and federal agencies.  There may be other types of resources helpful to those across the state not yet included here. If you would like to participate in the PA Climate Network or have a resource that you think would be beneficial to share, please e-mail us at ra-epclimatenetwork@pa.gov.  

PA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (PA DEP)

In alignment with Act 70, the Department of Environmental Protection is responsible for conducting a variety of work addressing climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. Key resources from DEP's efforts are included below.

• Pennsylvania Greenhouse Gas Inventory: A report estimating Pennsylvania's current emissions of greenhouse gases by key emitting sector.
• Pennsylvania Climate Impacts Assessment: An assessment that reviews current scientific findings and identifies relative climate risks to inform priority adaptation needs.

• Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan: A plan that includes strategies to reduce greenhouse gases and meet Pennsylvania's climate and emissions reduction goals.
• Small Business Advantage Grant: A grant program that can fund projects that reduce energy use or pollution through system upgrades (lighting, HVAC, manufacturing processes, etc.). The program can also fund agricultural products that may have GHG reduction co-benefits (primary focus is on sediment, phosphorus, and nitrogen reductions).
  
1. Please reach out to DEP's Samantha Harmon, the Small Business Ombudsman, for more information.

Please reach out to Lindsay Byron or Christopher Nafe for more information about DEP's work and climate resources.

DEP'S BUREAU OF CLEAN WATER

Climate change is impacting our waterways, and flooding can endanger both people and infrastructure. DEP's Bureau of Water has numerous flood resiliency resources and information about how non-point source practices have co-benefits including carbon sequestration (soil health practices, forest buffers) and stormwater runoff controls. Key resources from DEP's Bureau of Clean Water efforts are included below.

• Agricultural Advisory Board: A board that reviews and provide comment on policies, rules, and regulations which have an impact or a potential impact on agriculture or the agricultural community. The Board's website includes agendas, handouts, and other resources from their meetings.
• Flood Protection: A program that responds to requests from municipalities, state and federal legislators, county and state government officials, and private residents to investigate flood problems and determine the feasibility of providing solutions to them.
• PA Phase 3 Watershed Implementation Plan: A plan that incorporates climate change impacts to and beyond 2025.

Please reach out to Jill Whitcomb or Andy Klinger for more information about the Bureau of Clean Water's work and climate resources.

PA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

The Department of Health looks at the trends in hospitalizations due to climate related health effects (asthma, heat stress) and evaluates harmful algal bloom data and its associated public health impact trends. Some of their key findings are included in the resources below.

• State Health Improvement Plans: A multi-year strategic plan that identifies health priorities, goals, measurable objectives, and strategies for the next five years, including goals related to environmental justice.
• PA Occupational Safety and Health Surveillance Program: A program that aims to prevent and reduce work-related injuries, illnesses, deaths, and occupational health disparities in Pennsylvania, including those caused by environmental factors and climate impacts.
• Environmental Public Health Tracking: A program that monitors environmental exposures and related health outcomes, measuring changes over time and differences between regions in the state.

Please reach out to Maria Moskwa, Robert Gottlieb, or Remy Babich for more information about the Department of Health's work and climate resources.

PA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRY

Research is being conducted with fellows at the Department of Labor and Industry to gain a broad overview of how climate change impacts the workforce. This is an ongoing effort that will be producing reports/info/resources, which will be added to this list when available.

Please contact Rebecca Fischetti for more information about the Department of Labor and Industry's work and climate resources.

PA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

The Department of Agriculture supports soil health, agriculture communities, and climate resiliency for plants/animals. The Department has also identified opportunities to pilot agrivoltaics (solar and agriculture) that have the benefit of adding carbon free energy to the grid that could be purchased by the industrial sector.

• State Conservation Commission: This commission invests funding in farm best practices that improve soil health, water quality, farm viability with co-benefits of climate change mitigation and resiliency.

Please reach out to Doug Wolfgang or Mike Roth for more information about the Department of Agriculture's work and climate resources.

PA DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES (DCNR)

Climate impacts forest health and resilience, and forests also store carbon. Healthy forests store more carbon, and DCNR is home to many resources related to conservation, land, and forest management. Key resources from DCNR's efforts are included below.

• Climate and Sustainability Initiative: A summary of DCNR's progress on reducing its carbon footprint and improving climate resiliency.
• Climate Change Adaptation Plan: A planning effort that outlines objectives for DCNR to prepare for and mitigate the risks associated with potential climate impacts to Pennsylvania.
• Forest Carbon Management Principles: Principles to guide management of forests, which have been identified as a natural climate change solutions due to their amazing ability to convert carbon dioxide into living tissues like leaves, bark, stems, and roots.

Please reach out to Greg Czarnecki for more information about the DCNR's work and climate resources.

PA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (PennDOT)

Pennsylvania's transportation system is vulnerable to climate impacts and servere storms. PennDOT is focused on tackling these issues and on using data to make the state transportation system more efficient, responsive, sustainable, resilient, and equitable. See some of PennDOT's resources, below.

• PA Department of Transportation's Flood Vulnerability Map: A map of the Commonwealth that identifies areas toad segments that are at a high risk of flooding.
• Pennsylvania 2045 | Long-Range Transportation Plan (pa.gov): A plan to guide infrastructure investments and react effectively to abrupt changes and urgent situations, including impacts of climate change.

Please reach out to Nick Vivian for more information about PennDOT's work and climate resources.

PA EMERGENCY MANGEMENT AGENCY

The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) helps communities and citizens mitigate against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies, which include climate-related natural disasters. See some of the PEMA recommended climate resources below.

• Climate Adaption and Hazard Mitigation Certificate Program.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency offers an emergency management certificate program to those professionals completing online training courses and a capstone project.
• Climate Essentials for Emergency Managers.​ The Federal Emergency Management Agency offers downloadable resources for those seeking information on climate change for the emergency management community.  
  

PA PUBLIC UTINLITY COMMISSION

The Public Utility Commission requires utilities to track data, including CO2 reductions which can be found in the resources below.

• Act 129 Reports: Reports that track energy savings for PA's electric distribution companies, in alignment with Act 129 requirements.
• Alternative Energy Performance Standards (AEPS) Reports: Reports on electric distribution companies and electric generation suppliers on their progress to acquire and retire Alternative Energy Credits (AECs), per APES regulations.
  

FEDERAL RESOURCES

• U.S. General Services Administration's Sustainable Facilities Tool: This federal tool is a one-stop site to learn about best practices for sustainable building development, procurement, operations, and maintenance.
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Service's emPOWER Map: A federal mapping tool that identifies electricity dependent and medically vulnerable populations, for whom severe weather and prolonged power outages can be life threatening.
  

OTHER RESOURCES

• Pennsylvania's Looming Climate Cost Crisis: The Rising Price to Protect Communities from Extreme Heat, Precipitation, and Sea Level Rise: A report prepared by the Center for Climate Integrity, that estimates the costs associated with infrastructure improvements needed for municipalities to adapt to climate change impacts.