Pittsburgh, U.S. Steel commit to become carbon neutral by 2050

Pittsburgh’s leaders and its largest steel company are committing to become carbon neutral by 2050.

Mayor Bill Peduto used Earth Day, marked Thursday, to issue an executive order that commits the city to 12 initiatives designed to achieve the goal of eliminating carbon dioxide emissions.

The order came the day after U.S. Steel, which is based Downtown, committed to the same goal.

“Climate change is a global issue but has severe local impacts on Pittsburgh residents, especially upon those in low-income communities who bear the brunt of negative impacts from rising temperatures, tainted air and water, and severe weather,” Peduto said in a statement.

The order requires the city to:

• Begin scoring climate impact when creating departmental budgets and doing a climate risk assessment for new infrastructure investments and city operations.

• Develop a strategy to improve energy efficiency in city building.

• Convert the city’s streetlights to LED.

• Provide additional public charging stations for electric vehicles.

• Continue to promote bicycle and public transportation as an alternative to driving.

• Replacing municipal vehicles that are gas or diesel with ones powered by electricity or alternative fuels.

• Creating a revolving energy efficiency fund to direct the city’s savings on utility bills toward future projects that also improve efficiency.

• Establishing an energy planning delivery unit to provide guidelines for developers to implement environmentally-friendly practices into new construction.

• Using climate resilience and risk mitigation strategies in future comprehensive plans.

• Creating policies and programs to help low-income residents reduce improve the energy efficiency of their homes.

• Calling on other city agencies, including the Housing Authority, Urban Redevelopment Authority and Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority to adopt the same practices.

• Develop an online dashboard to track the city’s progress toward implementing these goals.

Peduto’s pledge builds on another executive order he signed Tuesday that calls for a deconstruction policy that encourages reuse of building materials that make up blighted houses.

The mayor is also lobbying for a “Marshall Plan for Middle America” to invest billions of dollars in Rust Belt cities like Pittsburgh to capitalize on green initiatives.

U.S. Steel makes similar pledge

U.S. Steel is making a similar pledge and will use electric arc furnaces (EAF) and other technologies to become carbon-neutral by 2050 as well.

“Climate change is a global crisis that requires a global response,” U. S. Steel President and Chief Executive Officer David B. Burritt said in a statement.

He called climate change “the challenge of this generation” and said becoming carbon-neutral is in line with keeping the company viable.

“We believe that we have a path forward that allows us to profitably produce sustainable steels well into the future, and we know that when businesses, governments and people work together to improve our shared destiny, transformative innovations can follow,” Burritt said.

The commitments build on other initiatives and plans in the region that indicate Pittsburgh is becoming a leader in environmental awareness and green programs.

“Boy, a lot of these things are coming together,” Emsworth developer Craig Rippole said Wednesday.

Rippole is partnering with actor Michael Keaton and a Canadian company to locate a plant that makes green building materials here.

Rippole’s company, Trinity Commercial Development, is located near the lock and dam where Allegheny County is building a hydropower plant to supply electricity to county buildings.

Allegheny County Council has also formed a committee tasked with studying and creating green and sustainability program.

The region is taking “the right approach,” Rippole said.

“We want to be good stewards of the environment,” Rippole said.