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    Climate Change

    Local Climate Action Program

    Having state and local governments lead by example on climate action is a key component of mitigating climate change in Pennsylvania and one of the strategies recommended in the Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan.

    The Local Climate Action Program provides free technical and personnel assistance to local governments that want to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address climate change. In its first four years, LCAP has trained 64 cities townships, boroughs, counties, and regional organizations, representing approximately 440 municipalities across the commonwealth.

    Five Milestones
    In the first three years of the program, it was run by the DEP Energy Programs Office and funded by the State Energy Program of the U.S. Department of Energy with ICLEI USA as the contractor that performed the training. Starting in the recently completed 4th year, the Penn State Sustainability Institute has taken over the cohort training and management of the program.

    If you’d like to participate in LCAP or learn more about the program, please contact Chris Nafe at chnafe@pa.gov or 717.783.9726.

    “My administration has prioritized sustainability by identifying initiatives that demonstrate environmental, social, and financial benefits that will positively impact our residents’ quality of life. The city’s staff has also done an outstanding job utilizing the training, technical support, and available resources to shape and improve our future. I thank DEP for supporting the City of Reading in its transition to become more climate-resilient and a regional leader in renewable energy and sustainability.” – City of Reading Mayor Eddie Moran, LCAP 2021-2022

    “Planning and preparing for the future with sustainability and environmental health in mind will make our borough and families stronger.” – Shawn Alfonso Wells, Swissvale Borough Council member, LCAP 2021-2022

    How LCAP Works

    Cohorts: August – May

    Local governments are recruited by Penn State professors or DEP energy programs office staff and matched with college students enrolled in the LCAP classes at Penn State University. ICLEI USA is contracted by DEP to provide memberships to their platform for the participating local governments and technical assistance to the local government representatives and students developing greenhouse inventories and climate action plans for their communities. Training begins in August and concludes in May. In the fall, teams focus on developing local greenhouse gas inventories, using ICLEI's ClearPath inventory tool. In the spring, teams focus on developing a local climate action plan. This includes engaging the community in the planning process, via in-person workshops, virtual meetings, and/or online surveys.

    Subscription option: Flexible timing

    Recognizing that local governments engage in climate action under varying time frames and not all can participate in a September-May training cohort, DEP has offered flexible access to ICLEI’s technical staff and ClearPath inventory tool. This has allowed communities to develop greenhouse gas inventories and climate action plans at their own pace and it is an option that will be made available as cohort space allows going forward (there is a cap on the number of ICLEI memberships available to each cohort).

    Participant Resources

    Data request templates – These templates should be completed by your municipality to request necessary data for your greenhouse gas inventory. The data requests are explained in webinars 2-4 below. Please be aware that your utilities may take a considerable amount of time to respond to these data requests.

    Master Data Workbook – This workbook should be used for data collection as you go through the inventory process. It is also a great tool to keep track of data sources to ensure future inventories follow the same process and use the same data sources.

    Webinar recordings – Watch each of the following training webinars to go step-by-step through the greenhouse gas inventory process.

    QAQC checklist – With this spreadsheet, you can cross check your data with what was entered into ClearPath to assure the data was entered correctly.

    Local Climate Action Plan Template – Fill in this template as you go through the various training webinars below.

    Webinar recordings – Watch each of the following training webinars to go step-by-step through the climate action planning process.

    LCAP Participants

    July 2022 – June 2023

    • Ben Avon Borough
    • CONNECT (Congress of Neighboring Communities)
    • Borough of Monaca
    • City of Beaver Falls
    • City of Aliquippa
    • Middletown Township in Bucks County
    • City of Meadville
    • Cumberland County
    • City of Harrisburg
    • Susquehanna Township
    • Havertown
    • Upper Darby
    • Chadds Ford Township
    • City of Lancaster
    • Allentown
    • Abington Township
    • Montgomery County Consortium of Communities
    • City of Easton
    • City of Shamokin
    • Monessen City

    • Allegheny College
    • Bucknell University
    • Dickinson College
    • Drexel University
    • Harrisburg University
    • Muhlenberg College
    • Penn State College
    • Shippensburg University
    • Susquehanna University
    • Temple University
    • University of Pittsburgh
    • Wilkes University

    July 2021 – June 2022

    • Millersville Borough
    • Milford Borough
    • Rutledge Borough
    • West Bradford Township
    • Warrington Township
    • Lewisburg Borough
    • Township of O’Hara
    • Carnegie Borough
    • Borough of Swissvale
    • Camp Hill Borough
    • Delaware County
    • Lehigh Valley Planning Commission

    • Penn State University
    • Wilkes University
    • Temple University
    • Drexel University
    • Bucknell University
    • Bryn Mawr University
    • Indiana University
    • University of Pittsburgh
    • Moravian University
    • Messiah University

    July 2020 – June 2021

    • Bucks County
    • Wormleysburg Borough
    • Reading City
    • Erie City
    • Scranton City
    • Lower Macungie Township
    • Lower Merion Township
    • Doylestown Borough
    • Doylestown Township
    • State College Borough
    • Uwchlan Township
    • East Fallowfield Township

    • Penn State University
    • West Chester University

    July 2019 – June 2020

    • Etna Borough
    • Forest Hills Borough
    • Millvale Borough
    • Munhall Borough
    • Sharpsburg Borough
    • West Homestead Borough
    • Elizabeth Township in Allegheny County
    • City of Reading
    • Bellefonte Borough
    • Centre Region Council of Governments
    • Caln Township
    • Chester County
    • Carlisle Borough
    • Derry Township
    • Erie County
    • Indiana Borough
    • Jermyn Borough
    • Armstrong Township
    • Narberth Borough
    • City of York

    • Allegheny College
    • Dickinson College
    • Drexel University
    • Lebanon Valley College
    • Millersville University
    • Muhlenberg College
    • Penn State University
    • Shippensburg University
    • Susquehanna University
    • Temple University
    • University of Pittsburgh
    • Wilkes University

    “The DEP Local Climate Action Program has greatly increased the capacity of our borough to make informed decisions about the adaptation and hazard mitigation we’ll need to do to respond to the climate crisis. It’s provided a guiding framework we are certain our community will use decades.” – Taylor Lightman, director, Lewisburg Neighborhoods, LCAP 2021-2022

    “Our interest in developing a local climate action plan began with an idea to install rooftop solar panels on our town hall. As we explored the costs and impact of that initiative, we realized we wanted to develop a more comprehensive, holistic approach to working to reduce climate change and prepare for its impacts.” – Sid Misra, Rutledge Borough Planning Commission member, LCAP 2021-2022

    “Measuring greenhouse gas emissions at the local level is an important way for local governments to understand the impact that climate-altering pollutants have on our communities, and, just as importantly, helps them create strategies to reduce emissions. I’ve seen firsthand how emissions inventories can help develop community-driven strategies, and it’s great to see DEP, our neighbors in the CONNECT communities, and ICLEI working together.” – Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto, LCAP 2019-2020.

    Final Local Climate Action

    Congratulations to the following local governments, who have finalized their Climate Action Plans! A plan is considered final when the draft has been presented to and approved by the local governing body. The next step is implementation.

    Local Climate Action Participant Map

    A map of the Local Climate Action Plan program participants can be found here: Local Climate Action Program - LCAP Participants. The map is made up of the various municipalities (cities, boroughs, and townships), counties, and regional planning organizations that have participated in the program over the first 4 years of the program. Municipalities are represented in brown, counties in blue, and regional planning organizations in green. Subsequent cohorts participating in the program with the Penn State Sustainability Institute will be added each program year.

    Shared Energy Manager and CAPstone

    The following communities have participated in additional programs offered by DEP such as the Shared Energy Manager and the CAPstone program in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Performance through Excellence and therein started implementing aspects of the climate action plans they completed through the Local Climate Action Program:

    Bellefonte Borough, Chester County, Elizabeth Township, Indiana Borough, City of Reading, Abington Township, Ben Avon Borough, Cumberland County, City of Easton, City of Shamokin, Munhall Borough, Jermyn Borough, Middletown Township, City of Lancaster, Sharpsburg Borough, Etna Borough, Millvale Borough , Forest Hills Borough, Centre Region Council of Governments

    To participate in Shared Energy Manager, apply here.

    If you would like to learn more about the program, please contact Chris Nafe at chnafe@pa.gov or 717.783.9726.