Philadelphia, PA

Population: 1.6 Million

Philadelphia is the sixth largest city in the United States and one of the most historically significant cities in the country as the birthplace of the Declaration of Independence. The city is home to about 1.6 million residents, with a metropolitan area of over six million people. The city’s building stock, which is typically older and smaller as compared to other major cities, accounts for a large share of the city’s emissions–almost 70% of Philadelphia’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from buildings and industry. In 2021, Philadelphia committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, which includes working towards 100% clean electricity and reducing emissions from buildings. 

To achieve its climate commitments, the City released Greenworks Philadelphia in 2016 as its sustainability framework, which lays out the vision that all Philadelphians will breathe healthy air both inside and outside and that all Philadelphians can access efficient, clean energy that they can afford. 

Creating a fair, multi-decade decarbonization strategy to achieve carbon neutrality will also require continued communication and engagement between leadership across the City of Philadelphia and Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), the city’s municipally-owned gas utility.  

In 2021, the City released the Philadelphia Gas Works Business Diversification Study, which assesses potential decarbonization pathways that would allow the utility to operate in a low-carbon future while thriving financially and protecting its 1,600-person workforce. From 2022-2023, BEI, in partnership with the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, conducted a follow-up study, titled Philadelphia Building Decarbonization Workforce Impacts And Opportunities, to assess the costs and skillset alignments of these decarbonization pathways with the existing gas utility workforce. The City of Philadelphia and PGW share a common goal: to protect the livelihoods of the dedicated utility and administrative workers at PGW who collectively hold decades of training, experience, and public service. The report finds that by deploying multiple fossil fuel-free technologies, including large-scale district geothermal networks, and collaborating closely with the existing workforce, the City can create new economic innovation opportunities for PGW and career paths for its workers while addressing climate change.

In 2024, BEI will continue to support the City to develop and implement impactful and ambitious actions to advance Philadelphia’s just transition to a clean energy future. This includes leveraging the unprecedented funding opportunities from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act to help the City implement a long-term strategy that will help reduce local energy burdens, improve indoor and outdoor air quality, and create good-paying jobs for Philadelphians.