But these efforts to reduce emissions amount to “low-hanging fruit,” said Schapira, with the Philadelphia Energy Authority. She said the investments to date have largely been for changes that will pay for themselves in energy savings.
“It’s things that can be budget-neutral,” she said. “We haven’t reorganized how we do things. We haven’t asked for a lot of change, and we certainly haven’t asked for sacrifice.”
Advocates want Philly to fund home repairs and ditch natural gas
Experts and advocates who testified during Monday’s hearing called on City Council to use its legislative power to bring about bolder action. \
“We need y’all, man,” said Shawmar Pitts, co-director of the Grays Ferry-based environmental justice advocacy group Philly Thrive. “We need legislation. … That’s how we’re going to change it.”
Pitts and others asked the council members to pass local funding for a home repair, weatherization, and solar energy program run by the Philadelphia Energy Authority, called Built to Last.
“People are losing their homes because they can’t afford to make essential repairs,” Pitts said. “Repairing homes in a way that increases energy efficiency and adds clean energy is a no-brainer way to transition from fossil fuels.”
Buildings and industry contribute most of the city’s carbon emissions. Most homes in Philly are heated by natural gas, supplied by the city-owned Philadelphia Gas Works.
Experts and advocates testified that City Council should bar new big construction projects from relying on fossil fuels for heating, should require Philadelphia Housing Authority projects to meet climate standards, force developers to report the emissions associated with their building materials, and demand more transparency from PGW about its plan to transition away from selling natural gas.
“Ask for all projects: will this contribute to the urgent transformation of Philadelphia that is needed, or will it perpetuate the status quo?” said Rob Kuper, professor of Architecture & Environmental Design at Temple University.
