Alumni Lead Environmental Innovation and Resilience Efforts

How can state and local governments mitigate the effects of climate change in their communities? It’s a big question, but some alumni of Carnegie Mellon University’s Heinz College have ideas. 

Katherine Diaz (MSPPM-DA ‘22) is the director of climate action innovation and analytics for the City of Boston’s Environment Department, and Michael Walsh (MPM ‘99) is the deputy secretary of administration for Pennsylvania’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).

Here’s what they shared:

Decarbonize large buildings

The City of Boston’s Environment Department has focused on decarbonizing large multifamily buildings, a process that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by making buildings more energy efficient and transition away from onsite fossil fuel use. Buildings make up about 70% of the city’s total emissions, according to research from the department. The majority of the emissions come from large buildings. 

“We want to make sure that new buildings are as efficient as possible and, ideally, all electric,” Diaz said. “But some existing buildings were built 200 years ago, and decarbonizing them would be extremely costly for the homeowner. The ROI just isn't there for those folks.”

To address that challenge, the city has implemented the Building Emissions Reduction and Disclosure Ordinance, known as BERDO. The ordinance requires the owners of certain large buildings to report their energy and water consumption each year and reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Or, the owners can comply with BERDO by making payments to a fund that benefits building decarbonization projects in environmental justice communities.

“It's super important for the City of Boston to provide the stick-and-carrot incentive,” Diaz said.

The city wants to help small homeowners reduce their emissions. These homeowners may feel daunted by the cost of installing heat pumps, solar panels or other environmentally friendly additions, Diaz said. The city plans to more proactively share information about the available state and federal financial incentives for such improvements.

Develop action and resiliency plans

Diaz said cities should also have comprehensive climate resilience plans to effectively respond to extreme weather events. During periods of extreme heat, Boston has leveraged its partners –– from hospitals to public libraries –– to provide cooling centers and other forms of support to residents. 

“We play the dual role of making sure the effects of climate change are not happening faster because of carbon emissions, while also recognizing that they're happening anyway,” Diaz said.

She added that cities must have a vision for climate justice in their community, as low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately affected by climate change. Climate justice involves finding solutions to not only climate change but also those racial and socioeconomic disparities. 

The pursuit of climate justice should not take a one-size-fits-all approach, Diaz said, as different cities in the U.S. have different histories, demographics and needs. In Boston, the Environment Department is considering ways to leverage public-private partnerships for climate justice initiatives or incorporate related items in city budget allocations.

Here in Pennsylvania, DCNR is developing its second Climate Action Plan. The department is measuring its carbon emissions and “thinking about how the conservation agency can model good behavior and encourage others to come along,” Walsh said. 

Support local governments

Given changing priorities at the federal level, Walsh believes state and local governments will need to play a larger role in addressing climate change and its effects. 

“When you're dealing with something so big like climate change, sometimes people throw their hands up and think, ‘There's nothing I can do,’” Walsh said. “But everyone can do something, including local government officials.”

Walsh pointed to Pennsylvania’s GreenGov Council, a statewide body co-chaired by the secretaries of DCNR and the departments of General Services and Environmental Protection. The members seek for the state to incorporate sustainable practices into its policy, operations and regulatory functions, according to its website.

The council hosts monthly online sessions for local governments, as well as a week-long webinar series in October. The members aim to share knowledge of sustainable practices with local governments and hear the challenges they face, Walsh said. Pennsylvania has more than 2,500 municipalities, and many lack employees focused solely on sustainability efforts.

“A lot of local government leaders are faced with unprecedented challenges. They’re faced with all this interest in renewable energy, large scale solar installations, and they're not quite sure how to handle it,” Walsh said.

“They aren’t sure how to handle the land use questions, how to handle the financial questions, and they're also faced with community residents, who have strong feelings about this,” Walsh said “With the council, the state government is trying to help in some ways.”

Walsh noted that Pennsylvania municipalities should take advantage of the state’s Guaranteed Energy Savings Act, which funds energy reduction investments with the savings anticipated to come over the next 20 years.

Install solar arrays and electrical vehicle charging stations

DCNR has focused on increasing the number of solar panels in Pennsylvania’s parks and forests throughout the last 10 years. There were seven solar panels in 2015, dating as far back as 1979. This year, on Earth Day, the department dedicated its 30th solar panel at Gifford Pinchot State Park.

“Not only could we demonstrate to the public, in a visual way, the importance of renewable energy, but we could lower our carbon footprint, our utility bills and energy costs, and take some buildings and, in some cases, whole parks, off the grid,” Walsh said. 

The department also operates more than 30 electrical vehicles and has implemented electric vehicle charging stations at more than 40 of its state parks. 

Students from CMU’s Heinz College of Public Policy and Information Systems helped the department develop its first fleet utilization study, published several years ago. The department still uses the data the students captured, Walsh said. 

Launch eco-friendly programs for residents

To increase biodiversity, clean water and provide food and shelter for pollinators and birds, DCNR operates the statewide Lawn to Habitat Program. Homeowners can request help from the department in transforming some or all of their lawns into woods or meadows, featuring native trees, shrubs and flowers.

“People sometimes will email us to say, ‘You're not cutting grass in the parks.’ We have to educate folks by saying, ‘We're doing something better, which isn't putting fossil fuels into the atmosphere and is providing space for pollinators and for wildlife, which is super important,” Walsh said. 

How can these policies gain support?

Both Diaz and Walsh said state and local officials should engage their public and private partners to outline climate goals and priorities, address questions and concerns, and develop plans. While Diaz said the City of Boston has received buy-in for BERDO, the implementation of the ordinance has required the city to be flexible and to articulate the benefits to residents.

“We don't want climate measures to feel burdensome,” she said. “I think people want to help, but it's still a bit of a conversation, especially coming out of the pandemic. But having level-setting conversations and working together has been really helpful.”

To get buy-in for environmental policies, municipalities could benefit from explaining climate-related issues to residents in a way that speaks to their lived experiences, Diaz said.

“It's not just about, ‘How do you get rid of emissions?,’ but, ‘How do you improve your indoor air quality in your schools and your homes and your early childhood care centers?’ It's all intrinsically connected,” she said.