National speakers and Pennsylvania-based experts will discuss “deep decarbonization” of Pennsylvania’s electricity sector at an upcoming conference hosted by the PA Environmental Council.

“Achieving Deep Carbon Reductions: Paths for Pennsylvania’s Electricity Future” will be held March 15-16 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh.

“Deep decarbonization focuses on cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent or greater by mid-century, which is in line with what the world’s top scientists recommend,” said Lindsay Baxter, Program Manager for Energy and Climate at PEC. “This conference will explore why such a target is important and how Pennsylvania might get there in a way that balances environmental, economic, and equity impacts.”

The conference will bring together practitioners from all sectors, including industry, higher education, government, and NGOs, to explore potential paths to decarbonizing the state’s power sector.

Speakers will focus on four such paths: renewable energy, nuclear power, energy efficiency, and carbon capture and storage.

“Too often, discussions of climate protection have the unintended consequence of picking winners and losers and pitting different technologies and resources against one another,” PEC President and CEO Davitt Woodwell said. “Shifting the focus to deep decarbonization, meaning a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 80 percent by mid-century, allows the conversation to expand to include more potential solutions and technologies.

Featured speakers include-- Dr. Julio Friedmann, a former DOE official currently with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Patrick McDonnell, Acting Secretary of the PA Department of Environmental Protection; Jessica Lovering of the Breakthrough Institute, an energy and environment think tank; Dr. Matthew McKinzie of the Natural Resources Defense Council; retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral David Titley, Ph.D., currently with the Penn State Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science; and Dr. Granger Morgan of Carnegie Mellon University and the NSF Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making.

The conference is supported by the Roy A. Hunt Foundation, the Sustainable Energy Fund, the West Penn Power Sustainable Energy Fund, the Metropolitan Edison Sustainable Energy Fund, and the Penelec Sustainable Energy Fund, as well as a host of corporate and nonprofit sponsors.

For more information on the conference, as well as online registration, is available at the Achieving Deep Carbon Reductions: Paths for Pennsylvania’s Electricity Future website. Discounted pricing is available through February 8th.

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the PA Environmental Council website, visit the PEC Blog, follow PEC on Twitter or Like PEC on Facebook.  Visit PEC’s Audio Room for the latest podcasts.  Click Here to receive regular updates from PEC.

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[Posted: Jan. 25, 2017]

1/30/2017