While the Trump administration has been working to remove environmental protections and even swapping out the term “climate change” for “resilient,” Pittsburgh is addressing this global issue head-on. The Steel City, along with numerous U.S. cities and now 14 States have committed to the Climate Paris Agreement, which the U.S. federal government withdrew from earlier this year. In September the City of Pittsburgh released a draft of its Climate Action Plan 3.0. The Plan calls for 100% renewable energy use and a dramatic reduction in emissions. The City Council is currently reviewing the Plan and may hold hearings or sessions before a final vote. With the lack of federal support and with the City’s commitment to the Paris Agreement, a global spotlight will shine on Pittsburgh as it addresses the issue of climate change. This past week alone the City had a three-day climate change workshop headlined by former Vice-President and climate change advocate, Al Gore.
The draft Climate Action Plan 3.0 can be found here and a summary presentation of the plan can be found here. Follow @PLANPGH on Twitter for updates from the City of Pittsburgh Department of City Planning.
For more information on sustainability and resilience in Pittsburgh visit the City’s website: pittsburghpa.gov/dcp/sustainability&resilience.
The video above was created by the Owl Me Not project run by Ben Wonderful. Owl Me Not seeks to simply explain that which is unknown, whether it’s an idea or innovative business. Owl Me Not has partnered with IHeartPGH to produce videos on topics related to Pittsburgh, including a series on innovators. The project is currently in development, but the latest video can be found here. Feel free to reach Ben Aufill about the OwlMeNot project via email.