A just transition to 100% renewable energy
Chris Rabb, Pennsylvania House of Representatives
The green new deal for public housing: toward a holistic green stimulus
Daniel Aldana Cohen, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
What Pennsylvania can do to grow the clean energy economy
Liz Robinson, Philadelphia Solar Energy Association
Municipal-level clean energy policy in Montgomery County, PA
Valerie Arkoosh, MD, MPH, Montgomery County (PA) Board of Commissioners
Chris Rabb
Chris Rabb is a father, educator, author, consultant, and member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives representing roughly 65,000 people in upper northwest Philadelphia.
A former U.S. Senate legislative aide and writer, researcher and trainer at the White House Conference on Small Business in the Clinton administration, Rabb is a thought leader at the intersection of politics, media entrepreneurship and social identity.
Daniel Aldana Cohen, Ph.D.
Daniel Aldana Cohen is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs the Socio-Spatial Climate Collaborative, or (SC)2. In 2018-19, he was a Member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He is the co-author of A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green Deal (Verso 2019). He led the research for the Green New Deal for Public Housing Act introduced in Congress by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez. His research and writing have appeared in Nature, Public Culture, The International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, The Guardian, The Nation, Jacobin, and elsewhere.
Liz Robinson
Liz is currently the Executive Director of the Philadelphia Solar Energy Association (PSEA), a local nonprofit dedicated to expanding solar energy across the state. Prior to coming to PSEA, Liz founded and directed the Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA) for more than 30 years. ECA provides energy efficiency, education, workforce development, home repair and bill payment assistance services to thousands of low income households every year. Liz also co-founded and directed the Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance (KEEA) Pennsylvania’s energy efficiency trade association. She also managed the Energy Cooperative Association (ECAP), expanding it to a regional organization and taking it into the renewable energy market.
Valerie Arkoosh, MD, MPH
Commissioner Valerie Arkoosh is a parent of three, physician, health policy expert, and community leader who, on January 28, 2015, was chosen unanimously by the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas to fill a vacancy on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners. She was elected to a full four-year term in November 2015 and was elected unanimously as Commission Chair on November 17, 2016. Arkoosh is a longtime resident of Montgomery County who has been engaged in public health policy development across all levels of government. She is a nationally-recognized public health policy expert. Until recently, she was Professor of Clinical Anesthesiology and Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. She sought the Democratic nomination in 2014 for the 13th Congressional District seat.
Hi everyone, I look forward to all your questions.
Commissioner Arkoosh. Thank you for your talk, and all your work to move Montco to clean energy. It seems like even though there is leadership at the county-level to prioritize clean energy, municipalities still have to "opt in" to the resources and frameworks you've created. Is this a fair assessment, and could you speak a little to the barriers this creates, and how to navigate them?
This is Jon Lesher, Principal Environmental Planner with the Montgomery County Planning Commission answering this question on behalf of Commissioner Arkoosh:
Thank you very much for your kind words. We strongly believe that county government should provide leadership and guidance to our stakeholders to help them make responsible decisions. While the county does not have the regulatory authority to require municipalities, businesses, organizations, or individuals to prioritize clean energy we can provide information, highlight success stories from around the region, and lead by example. By doing so, we overcome one of the barriers that may prevent municipalities from participating in clean energy efforts: lack of trusted sources of information. As the county provides information and local success stories, we build trust with our stakeholders and have honest conversations about what is best for their communities.
I just want to share the good news that yesterday the PA Environmental Quality Board (EQB) approved the DEP's proposed regulations for the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon cap and invest program. This now opens a year long public review and comment period prior to implementation of the carbon market in January 2022. For more detail see the DEP's website. https://www.dep.pa.gov/Citizens/climate/Pages/RGGI.aspx