Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is home to just over 300,000 residents and serves as the economic and cultural center of southwestern Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh has made strong commitments to climate action, anchored by its Climate Action Plan 3.0 – which emphasizes reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from buildings, transitioning to clean energy, and improving energy efficiency citywide. The City has also committed to carbon neutrality by 2050. Energy use in buildings – particularly in older residential properties – is a major contributor to Pittsburgh’s GHG emissions, making energy efficiency and electrification upgrades in buildings essential to meeting the City’s targets.
Pittsburgh Programs, Policies, and Strategies
Pittsburgh centers public health and equity in its approach to climate action. Because low- and moderate-income households and communities of color often experience the highest energy cost burdens and the greatest exposure to pollution, Pittsburgh’s climate and resilience strategies emphasize directing investments toward these communities. Through strong partnerships with community organizations, regional institutions, and housing providers, the City seeks to advance climate action in ways that are inclusive, transparent, and responsive to neighborhood-level needs.
BEI is working with the City of Pittsburgh to scale up its local energy efficiency home repair programs. To help make up for a reduction in federal funding, BEI and Elevate are helping city staff identify innovative local and regional funding streams for long-term, community-focused investments that can stabilize energy bills, particularly as significant demand from data centers is added to the electric grid. The City envisions working with a variety of local stakeholders and investors to create community benefits plans that can distribute investments via existing program infrastructure to help repair homes, lower energy bills, and create new jobs and economic opportunity. BEI is also helping the City identify ways to sustainably fund retrofit programs through a combination of other public, private, and philanthropic resources.
By supporting Pittsburgh to align multiple sources of funding for building decarbonization and prioritize outcomes for historically marginalized communities, BEI is helping the City deliver cleaner air, lower energy bills, healthier homes, and good local jobs alongside ambitious climate action.
