HARRISBURG, Pa. -- President Joe Biden convenes a virtual Leaders Summit on Climate this week, putting the U.S. back into a leadership role after four years when states were leading the way.

Forty world leaders are invited to participate in the summit, which starts Thursday.

Biden also wants to reestablish the federal partnership with state and local leaders to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build out clean-energy infrastructure.

Jesse Barlow, president of the State College Borough Council, noted Gov. Tom Wolf is pushing to have Pennsylvania join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multi-state effort to cut carbon emissions from the power sector.

"It's extremely important, because Pennsylvania is basically a polluter state," Barlow explained. "And so, joining it would be a big deal and would help Pennsylvania on the road to reducing its carbon footprint."

The Leaders Summit on Climate will focus on the urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the economic benefits of transitioning to clean energy, including job creation.

According to a fact sheet released by the White House, in 2019 almost 94,000 Pennsylvanians had jobs in the clean-energy sector.

Barlow thinks transitioning to a clean-energy economy is critical for the Commonwealth's economic future.

"I see new solar industries popping up all over the place, wind industries," Barlow observed. "So, the transition for Pennsylvania is, if anything, necessary. The fossil fuel industries are not going to support us in the long term."

The Biden administration's American Jobs Plan invests in creating more clean-energy jobs in Pennsylvania, through tax credits for clean-energy generation and manufacturing.

The effects of climate change are already being felt in Pennsylvania and worldwide, but combatting it has become a partisan issue, making progress difficult.

Barlow believes the new federal commitment can help build new momentum.

"I hope Pennsylvania joins in and becomes a partner with the federal government on this issue," Barlow stated. "And if that happens, then we have a brighter future to look forward to."

As the economy has changed with the pandemic in the past few years, Indiana's small communities have seen an exodus of jobs and people. However, experts say there's hope on the horizon in the form of community redevelopment through renewable energy.

According to the Clean Grid Alliance, Indiana already has the second-most clean-energy jobs in the Midwest because millions of dollars are being invested in wind and solar energy.

Connie Neininger, senior advisor for the Center for Infrastructure and Economic Development, said clean energy could be the answer to revitalizing a community.

"The rural area needs to find its niche, and that could be renewable energy, because more and more companies today are looking for renewable-energy sources," she said. "Especially globally, they're looking for communities that have renewable energy available."

Since 2021, Neininger said, clean-energy jobs in the Hoosier State are growing twice as fast as the overall economy. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will provide $6.9 billion over the next five years for road, bridge and redevelopment projects.

Neininger said economic development agreements can be a powerful incentive to recruit for renewable-energy businesses. She recommended hiring a qualified attorney or consultant to advise on issues such as financial incentives or tax-abatement agreements.

"When a renewable-energy project comes in and invests sometimes hundreds of millions of dollars into that community with its infrastructure," she said, "the actual equipment - that is adding to the county's assessed valuation."

Neininger warned that local officials need to be clear-eyed about which types of companies they recruit, making sure their community and the employer are a good fit.

"They may not have the workforce available," she said. "They may not have the infrastructure, whether it's water, wastewater or even power. And they may not have the transportation - the roadways, the access to interstate - as do a lot of the metropolitan areas."

Oregon is pursuing an aggressive climate plan to switch to renewable energy sources, but it faces one often overlooked issue: enough high-voltage power lines to facilitate the transition.

An Oregon law requires utilities to cut greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2040. However, the Northwest's aging transmission lines will need a reboot to ensure wind and solar resources on the east side of the Cascades make their way west.

Emily Moore, director of climate and energy at the Sightline Institute, said lines can take 10 to 20 years to build, and the grid is nearing capacity.

"We need to be looking much farther into the future in order to start those complicated processes now," Moore contended. "And not wait a decade or 20 years until it's much more urgent."

Moore argued creating a plan for building power lines in the region is going to be critical. She pointed out a glut of wind and solar projects in the Northwest cannot come online because there is a lack of transmission capacity.

There are several hurdles to siting transmission lines. Negotiations are required with landowners and tribes, and not every community likes the idea of having tall lines stretch across the land.

Fred Heutte, senior policy associate for the Northwest Energy Coalition in Portland, said public engagement is key, especially with the communities where the lines may end up going.

"Their voices are really important and getting benefits to those communities as a result of the new transmission is also very important, and being protective of the environmental and cultural resources that may be affected by new transmission is also important," Heutte outlined. "All of those things come into play here."

Moore noted the biggest transmission line player in the region is the Bonneville Power Administration, a federal entity which owns about three-quarters of the high-voltage lines in the Northwest.

"We do have, of course, our Northwest congressional delegation, which has influence over BPA and many folks think that they should be encouraging or at least engaging with BPA on more proactively building new lines," Moore emphasized.

She added states should do everything they can to maximize energy sources like rooftop solar, which reduce the need for transmission lines.

Proposed legislation would help schools throughout Virginia adopt renewable energy.

The bill would direct the Virginia Department of Energy and the Commission on School Construction and Modernization to gather information about climate-smart programs for schools to implement. Schools in the state would also receive technical assistance and help seeking funding sources.

Del. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Ashburn, the bill's author, said while the program the bill creates is completely optional, an important part of future building will include renewable energy.

"When you build a school, it doesn't just last five years, and then you tear it down, and you build another one. It's got to last a long time. Decades, right?" Subramanyam pointed out. "And I don't see us in 20, 30 years; I don't see a future that's not going to involve renewable energy."

Subramanyam considers it common-sense legislation, and an easy way to help schools, without forcing them to adopt the measure, if they do not have the funding to do so.

School administrators told him they were not sure how to access certain climate-friendly resources. A previous version of the bill was introduced in 2021 but needed to be revised. Subramanyam hopes the legislation will aid schools in preparing for a climate-smart future.

Molly Robertson, research associate at Resources for the Future, believes it is a critical part of the puzzle to ensure schools move toward climate friendliness. One benefit she sees is getting schools access to information about adapting renewable-energy resources.

However, she noted if they do not have the resources to get involved with the program, there is not much help in the way of accessing climate-smart grants. Robertson added there are lower-cost options to make Virginia schools more environmentally friendly.

"The easiest one that a lot of schools have tackled is replacing their lighting system and using high-efficiency LED bulbs," Robertson explained. "But, there are other things that can make an even bigger impact, like replacing heating systems from natural-gas heating systems to electric heating systems like heat pumps."

She emphasized larger school districts have energy-conservation programs in place, but others might need to establish them, potentially starting at the state level. While it is one part of a larger puzzle, Robertson thinks the bill offers schools a unique opportunity to be part of the push to decarbonize buildings.