Pa. Governor Tom Wolf Announces Plan For Mitigating Climate Change Effects
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
HARRISBURG (KDKA) -- Governor Tom Wolf announced the Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan 2021 on Wednesday.
With the plan, the governor stated that he wants all sectors of the state working to fight climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Between 2005 and 2017, statewide greenhouse gas emissions dropped 19%, according to data from the new Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan.
"As thousands of Pennsylvanians try to recover from historic flooding and tornadoes related to the remnants of Ida this month, the message is clear: we must move now out of a reactive mode on climate change," Wolf said. "Across sectors, leadership requires knowledge, tools, and proactive approaches to protect Pennsylvanians from the instability set off by the climbing global temperature. In addition to adapting to the level of impacts we're already experiencing, we must significantly lower greenhouse gas emissions if we're to prevent worsening impacts."
There are 18 action items detailed in the plan that are seeking to meet the 2025 and 2050 statewide emissions goals. The emission goals include reducing emissions by 26% by 2025 and by 80% by 2050 in comparison to baseline levels in 2005.
The Wolf administration says that the plan will create thousands of new jobs and that if action to reduce emissions is not taken, Pennsylvania will be above 2005 emission levels.