Pennsylvania is breathing easier now that federal funds are flowing to the state again, thanks, in part, to a lawsuit filed by Governor Shapiro’s office challenging the Trump administration’s funding freeze. While funds in limbo have impacted states nationwide, Pennsylvania’s situation is unique. Last year, the state received an unprecedented 20% of all the funding available through EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program—almost $400 million. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) had already created the Reducing Industrial Sector Emissions in Pennsylvania (RISE PA) program as a result, and plans were well underway.
Tell Congress: Freezing Federal Funding Hurts Children
This progress was thrown into chaos in late January when the funds, appropriated by Congress and obligated by the federal government in the second largest competitive grant Pennsylvania has ever received, were frozen. Would one of the largest federal investments in cleaning up greenhouse gas pollution in the U.S. fail before it could even start?
The answer, for now, is no. This is great news.
RISE PA
As a flagship, first-in-the-country endeavor, RISE PA will now be able to enact plans to deliver real environmental and economic benefits to Pennsylvania residents while funding innovative climate solutions. RISE PA will cut pollution by more than 5.2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent from 2025 to 2030 and nearly 9.2 million metric tons from 2025 to 2050.
The Pennsylvania DEP explains that eligible projects “must reduce industrial sector emissions through industrial electrification, efficiency and process emissions reductions, switching to low-carbon fuels, installing on-site renewable energy, utilizing carbon capture and storage, and reducing fugitive emissions from natural gas and oil systems and coal mining.”
It’s worth noting that Pennsylvania has a long legacy of industrial pollution that significantly contributes to global warming and impacts the health of families living closest to these industrial sources. Pennsylvania’s industrial sector, the highest emitting sector statewide, is responsible for over 30% of the state’s total greenhouse gas pollution.
Health impacts of industrial air pollution
The industrial sector is a significant contributor to climate disruption but also a major source of other air pollutants. Industrial air pollution can lead to respiratory and cardiovascular difficulties, as well as cancers. Allegheny County is in the top 2% nationally for cancer risk from hazardous air pollutants. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pennsylvania has the third highest cancer incidence rate of all U.S. states.
Children are particularly vulnerable to industrial air pollution impacts as their lungs and other vital organs are still developing. Climate threats and air pollution can interfere with children’s lung development and increase the risk of asthma, respiratory illness, low birth weight, and premature birth.
Pennsylvania families are living with climate disruptions made worse by air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels. From increasing extreme floods to excessive wildfire smoke blanketing the state to a larger tick population causing the highest rate of Lyme disease in the country, Pennsylvania’s families pay the price for industrial pollution.
Community benefits for impacted families
RISE PA will encourage polluters to create community benefit plans that prioritize acting on pollution specifically for the benefit of families living closest to industrial facilities. For example, RISE PA funds are being used to electrify industrial facilities with renewable energy sources and energy efficiency projects. This decarbonization of polluting facilities will improve air quality and children’s health and well-being, especially in communities that have already suffered disproportionately from environmental burdens.
Our goal is clean air and a stable climate for all—especially future generations. Now is the time to clean up Pennsylvania’s industrial pollution, and these unprecedented funds from the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program, rightfully unfrozen, are exactly what the state needs to protect our children—today and tomorrow.
At the same time, it is unclear whether the funding Pennsylvania was awarded for this program will continue to flow, so Moms must keep speaking out in support of efforts like this one to cut air and climate pollution at the community level.