Currently in its third year, the Local Climate Action Program partners Penn State students (from any campus, any major, undergrad and grad) with local government officials from around Pennsylvania to complete local scale climate action planning. In the fall semester, we support students’ as they complete a comprehensive greenhouse gas inventory for the community – from collecting and interpreting data all the way through publicly presenting it to city councils. In the spring, students continue that partnership to advance climate planning – usually by way of drafting climate action plans and completing emissions forecasting scenarios using inventory data. We’ve worked with more than 30 communities around the state ranging from tiny boroughs to Bucks County and bigger cities like Scranton, Erie, and Allentown. In the next four years, local scale climate action will be particularly critical to ensuring we continue to make progress on emissions reduction goals in the US.
Courses are largely online with some regular synchronous requirements for engagement with faculty and cohort as well as community partners in local government. Students must apply to be considered.
Interested in learning more?
Find out if LCAP is a good fit for your academic and professional interests by coming to this Zoom info session to learn more.