Staying clear-eyed: How climate groups are continuing their work despite a new federal administration

Green Philly spoke with four local climate and sustainability organizations about how they are preparing for forecasted changes to climate support.

National executive orders have moved to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement, ramp up domestic oil production, and remove environmental protections. And it’s only been a little over one week into the Trump administration. 

How are local organizations that fight for climate responding when federal funding is up in the air?

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“We don’t anticipate many differences, except in terms of federal funding.”

Ashlei Tracy is the Deputy Director of the Pennsylvania Bipartisan Climate Initiative. The organization educates both the public and public officials about their constitutional rights and obligations under the Environmental Rights Amendment.

“We’re a bipartisan organization, so we’re obviously still open to working with folks across the aisle, but when you get down to the more local level, I find that these kinds of partisan tactics actually don’t end up playing out as much as folks would want us to believe they do,” said Tracy.

Tracy anticipates that there will still be state and local investment in energy development and tax credits for renewables due to financial incentives. She believes it is “still very realistic” for municipalities to work with the state on funding, and PA Bipartisan will continue to help municipalities review possible funding opportunities. 

“We’re hoping that we can really dive into helping Pennsylvania municipalities implement the Environmental Rights Amendment, particularly when it comes to land use and transportation,” said Tracy. 

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“We plan to stay clear-eyed on the local and state victories that we can win, but at the same time, we aren’t ignorant of the potential challenges to our work that could come from the administration.”

Patrick Houston is the Climate and Jobs State Lead at POWER Interfaith, a multi-faith coalition across Southeastern and Central Pennsylvania that pushes for social justice.

“Much of our work is focused on local and state-level campaigns. Of course, we have our concerns, but we do not want to become unnecessarily distracted by the expected chaos of the incoming administration.”

POWER’s Climate and Jobs team is focusing on four campaigns in 2025. The first is to push PGW towards renewable and affordable energy, as well as transparency. 

1. Philadelphia Gas Commission campaign. “We are working with a lot of partners on this campaign to make sure that the Philadelphia Gas Commission does not enact regulations that would bar community members from being present in hearings. We are waiting for the city to publish its review of a hearing back in November regarding this matter. Ultimately, we want to push PGW towards more transparency and to meet the city’s 2050 carbon neutral goal.”
2. Whole-homes repair campaign. The goal of the next campaign is to help homeowners get access to the Whole-Home Repairs (WHR) Program funding, as well as to push for continuing and expanding the program. The WHR is a state-level program that provides an average of $17,000 in repairs to eligible homeowners and small landlords who are modest- to low-income. Houston said that POWER advocates for decarbonized buildings, weatherization, and affordable renewable energy through the WHR program.
3. The Peoples Energy plan. For the Peoples Energy Plan, “PECO is the main target.” However, it is a part of a larger effort to hold utilities accountable to community needs and climate justice in Pennsylvania, said Houston. Through POWER’s efforts, PECO is now required to use 25 megawatts of solar as part of their mix of energy sources to power southeast Pennsylvania customers.
4. Grassroots Power. Finally, POWER looks to keep building grassroots power across the commonwealth.

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“The majority of Pennsylvanians want climate action, clean energy, and clean air, but too many officials are not addressing it with urgency. No matter who is in office, we will keep pushing climate policies forward.” 

Flora Cardoni is the Deputy Director of PennEnvironment, a grassroots advocacy and research group that advances state climate policy.

“We are thinking a lot about how to move policy in this moment. For climate, historically states and cities have been the main drivers [versus federal].”

The last state legislative session saw the introduction of bills to improve renewable energies in Pennsylvania. Cardoni said PennEnvironment will keep pushing those bills forward this legislative session and build public support around them. 

The two bills Cardoni said were a “one-two punch for climate pollution” in Pennsylvania are the Pennsylvania Reliable Energy Sustainability Standard (PRESS) initiative and the Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction (PACER) program. PRESS seeks to boost the commonwealth’s energy production to 35% clean, renewable energy by 2035. Pennsylvania is 48th in the country in terms of growth of the renewable energy sector. PACER sets statewide carbon limits on power plants, and then makes power plants pay for emission allowances through a cap-and-invest program. 

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“The federal government can continue to give subsidies to fossil fuels, but there are too many businesses that are doing the right thing. While oil is heavily subsidized by the federal government, renewables have had to survive in the private market.”

Nic Esposito, Director of Policy and Engagement at Circular Philadelphia. Circular Philadelphia is a coalition of materials management and circular economy professionals that supports the development of a circular economy in Philadelphia. 

“We were pretty excited for the Inflation Reduction Act money earmarked for circular economy grants, and EPA Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling (SWIFR) grants, but now we are concerned about the state of those funds,” said Nic Esposito. 

Esposito expects the circular economy and renewables to remain concentrated in the private sector without a “more level playing field.” Despite a lack of subsidies, businesses are still turning to circular methods because reusing materials is “a cheaper and easier way of manufacturing.” 

Circular plans to keep advocating at the local level. They support a construction and demolition recycling law that requires construction sites to recycle materials rather than incinerate them, which pollutes the air. 

Circular also advocates for legislation allowing temporary activation of vacant land that the Land Bank is not acquiring. Temporary land activation could “reduce illegal dumping and other crimes while also increasing community and economic development,” according to Circular’s policy guide.

Photo by Tabrez Syed on Unsplash