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of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

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    Climate Change

    Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan

    Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan 2024 outlines a pathway for reducing Pennsylvania’s greenhouse gas emissions across all major contributing sections, and identifies actions to help Pennsylvanians adapt to the climate changes already taking place. Read the complete plan here (PDF).

    The plan identifies 22 strategies—in built environment, transportation, industrial, fuel and gas systems, power generation, waste, land use and agriculture, and crossing cutting technologies that quantitative modeling shows will help meet the Commonwealth's greenhouse gas reduction goals if they are effectively implemented. Together, these strategies provide a cohesive, cross-sectoral pathway toward meaningful GHG reductions, improved health outcomes, economic growth, and a more equitable society.

    Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan 2024 also charts specific adaptation pathways for priority climate change hazards identified in Pennsylvania Climate Impacts Assessment 2024 as already impacting Pennsylvania and projected to worsen if we don’t reduce emissions. Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan 2024 was developed with a focus on human health and equity throughout.

    As required by the Pennsylvania Climate Change Act of 2008, the DEP and the Climate Change Advisory Committee (CCAC) produced this Climate Action Plan and submitted it to the Governor in 2024. This plan

    • identifies greenhouse gas (GHG) emission and sequestration trends and baselines in the Commonwealth;
    • evaluates cost-effective strategies for reducing or offsetting GHG emissions;
    • identifies costs, benefits and co-benefits of reduction strategies recommended;
    • identifies areas of agreement and disagreement among committee members; and
    • recommends to the General Assembly legislative changes necessary to implement the Action Plan.
    • In addition, the DEP and CCAC are required to update the plan every three years.

    Read the latest plan:

    Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan 2024 (PDF)

    Previous Climate Action Plans:

    Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan 2021 (PDF)

    Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan 2021 Summary Booklet (PDF)

    Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan 2018 (PDF)

    Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan 2018 Summary Booklet (PDF)
     

    Energy Assessment Report for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

    The Energy Assessment Report for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (PDF) helped to inform the development of our Climate Action Plan 2018, as it characterizes current, future, and potential energy trajectories in Pennsylvania. In this report, technical and economic potential of Pennsylvania's available energy resources is assessed from 2016 through 2050. The following questions are addressed in the report:

    • What will Pennsylvania's energy, economic, and environmental future look like in the absence of additional action? 
    • Does Pennsylvania have the in-state resources to meet energy demand now and in the future? 
    • How and where should the Commonwealth focus its efforts to encourage clean, diverse energy sources and minimize contributions to climate change? 
    • What energy opportunities can the Commonwealth use to its economic advantage in the future?