Transition is also on the minds of organizers at Sunrise Movement Pittsburgh — they want Innamorato to help residents switch to clean HVAC systems.
Sunrise Movement Pittsburgh is a prominent collective of volunteers and part of the region’s broader environmental justice network. They mobilize Allegheny’s communities to elect pro-climate candidates (such as Innamorato) and advocate for sustainability.
One focus of the group is carbon emissions, including from fossil fuels—an industry that has long had its teeth in Western Pa. In late 2023, climate activists and nonprofits across the county successfully blocked the construction of a new power plant in Elizabeth Township.
This year, however, Sunrise is concentrating on a different source of carbon emissions — our homes. According to the most recent iteration of Pittsburgh’s climate action plan, gas heating and cooling in residences make up 25% of the city’s emissions. “So even if we were just looking at carbon emissions, that would be substantial,” Tom Pike, a volunteer with the organization, tells Pittsburgh City Paper
Studies show that gas heating not only affects outdoor air quality, but indoor air quality, as well. “When we look at why asthma is so prevalent in this region, it’s partly because of the air that people breathe outside, and partly because of the air they breathe inside,” Pike says. But there’s another problem. “When you have a gas system, you're driving up demand for fracking,” he adds.
Over the past few years, Pike has been working on making his house emissions-free. That includes ripping out his gas line. “In my experience, trying to make my home zero emissions, contractors will recommend the systems they're most familiar with,” he shares. “When I was going for my heat pump, I got quotes from three different HVAC companies, and two of them still tried to sell me gas, even after I told them I was building a zero-emissions building.”
Pike’s challenges point to a larger problem in the HVAC industry — building generational knowledge of climate-conscious options. He believes the solution lies at Allegheny County Community College. “CCAC is a huge untapped resource here,” he says.
Sunrise is encouraging County Executive Innamorato to open a discussion with the college’s board about their HVAC curriculum. “Talk to people who currently work in HVAC and figure out how to incorporate modern zero emissions HVAC programs into the courses that are already being taught. The goal is that when folks graduate, they know how to install these things,” Pike explains.
But doing this would require money. “The county has an obligation to fund CCAC to a certain extent,” Pike says. “By law, they have not been doing this.” Last month, after CCAC’s requests for more funding, Allegheny County Council amended Fitzgerald’s 2024 budget to include approximately $35 million for the college.
Still, it’s less than the board and organizers, hoped for. “I expect, and I think it's the bare minimum to expect, frankly, that future budgets that Innamorato puts together will include the appropriate amount of funding for CCAC, because it's supposed to be something that is a public service,” Pike says.
If this happens, Sunrise believes that funds should go to environmentally sustainable vocational curriculum, and, eventually, free tuition for county residents. “So if we imagine a CCAC that is, first of all, free to attend and properly funded by the county, and teaching people how to install clean HVAC systems, then you're looking at a county that is giving residents a real promising future,” Pike shares.
This would mean more and more availability of electric heating, cooling and ventilation systems, so that if Pike asked again in 10 years, all three companies could offer him gas-free options.
But many individuals don’t get to make decisions about how their home is heated. In fact, according to the U. S. Census, only about 47% of households in Pittsburgh are owner-occupied. Renters are at a disadvantage, with landlords often choosing the cheapest or most convenient HVAC systems.
When considering how to incentivize the installation of clean HVACs, organizers point to Innamorato’s own legislation. As a state representative, she introduced the Whole-Home Repairs Program, which passed with Pennsylvania’s 2022-2023 budget. The program, which provides grants for homeowners and forgivable loans for landlords, has a budget of $125 million state wide, with $13 million allocated for Allegheny County.
Pike argues that a similar program, or the program itself, could help individuals cover the cost of installing clean HVAC systems. “It would make available a lot of money going towards clean HVAC, which would then be the demand side for these jobs,” he says.
In addition, organizers are urging not just the county, but the country, to think about security for green jobs. “We need to work on unionizing those industries because right now solar and wind are unionized at a much lower rate than fossil fuels — and, correspondingly, their pay is worse,” Pike shares. “Not just their pay, but their long-term job security.”
Sunrise still supports sweeping policies like the proposed Green New Deal. But Pike says scalable solutions like this one are just as important. The best chance for success? "If you're creative about it," he says.
