Research Program for Assisted Subnational Climate Planning

This project brings together researchers, educators, and practitioners to develop a research-to-action plan supporting local climate policy and planning through Penn State’s Local Climate Action Program. By analyzing policy challenges, organizational readiness, and educational needs, the initiative aims to enhance local government climate ambition and improve technical assistance for communities.

This project focuses on research at the intersection of climate policy, planning, and community engagement at the local level. It brings Penn State researchers and staff, faculty from other institutions of higher education, and governmental and non-governmental organization staff in the climate action space with experience in climate planning. The Accelerator project will result in a research plan that will develop effective educational and capacity-building programs generally and Penn State’s Local Climate Action Program in particular. Ultimately, it should bolster local governmental climate ambition. 

The Local Climate Action Summit at COP28 highlighted that “local leaders play [a critical role] in reducing emissions, addressing climate risk, and supercharging national efforts to move further and faster on climate progress.” Penn State’s Local Climate Action Program will develop a research-to-action program to support communities. This entails several steps, including a programmatic review, a shared literature review in planning, climate policy, climate politics, and social psychological literature, determining the most pressing questions we need to answer, and establishing staffing needs for ongoing research and research-informed programming. We will understand policy windows and barriers to action, local approaches to wicked problems, and the organizational features of local governments that prepare them for climate action. We will hone the program’s technical assistance education programming and funding needs. 

This research workshop will be attended by researchers and practitioners in equal measure. Participants come from four Penn State departments, Bard College, several non-governmental organizations in climate planning and renewable energy, local governments, and LCAP alumni.