EVENT: Climate Solutions Symposium 2025

PANEL DISCUSSION: Forging Partnerships to Decarbonize the Residential Sector in PA

DATE: May 19, 2025

TIME: TBA

LOCATION: The Penn Stater Hotel & Conference Center, 215 Innovation Blvd, State College, PA 16803

ABOUT:

Panelists: Alon Abramson (PEA), Garrett Strunk (PADEP), Jason Embick (CEC), Liz Marx (PULP)

Moderator: Heidi Kunsch (PADEP)

While buildings are a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, they can also be a part of the solution to climate change.  Decarbonizing our building stock starts with the megawatt, or energy efficiency, and then moves to electrification.  By transitioning our buildings from the use of fossil fuels for space heating and cooking via electrification, we are not only decreasing greenhouse gas emissions but also supporting the health of occupants…a win-win for people and planet.  However, as policies and programs are developed, we need to ensure that utility bills of low-income homeowners are not inadvertently increased and we need to support disadvantaged communities in understanding the need for decarbonizing their homes.  A key will be to empower these communities with knowledge and engage their members in the workforce that will be a part of the decarbonization movement.  This panel will explore three approaches (financing, program design, and workforce) to decarbonizing our residential sector in Pennsylvania. We will hear from the PADEP Energy Programs Office on the Penn Energy Savers Program, Alon Abramson from The Philadelphia Energy Authority’s Built to Last Program, and Jason Embick from Penn College of Technology’s Clean Energy Center. The goal of this panel is to raise awareness about what is being done in PA to decarbonize residences and engage in a robust discussion with the audience to imagine solutions to challenges we face in this sector.  Each panelist will provide a short presentation on their program/area of expertise, followed by a Q&A session between the moderator and panelists.  We’ll close out the session with an interactive discussion between the audience and panelists.