The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Citizens Advisory Council (CAC) voted Tuesday to not move forward with Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposal to join the Northeast Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).
The CAC vote against the governor’s executive order to join the RGGI was by a margin of 9-4, with one abstention. It follows a meeting held by the governor-appointed Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee on May 7, during which the committee also failed to generate the necessary votes to make a formal recommendation for the RGGI proposal.
“Pennsylvania’s inclusion in RGGI would result in a carbon tax on air emissions from fossil fueled power plants, which are some of the most reliable and efficient providers of energy in the Commonwealth,” Power PA Jobs Alliance said in response to the vote. “This tax would lead to the closure of several of these power plants, resulting in the direct elimination of thousands of family-sustaining jobs, loss of crucial tax revenue for schools and communities and increases in the cost of electricity for all the Commonwealth’s energy consumers.”
The Power PA Jobs Alliance added that there has lacked a formal and open public participation process or any form of legislative concurrence behind the RGGI proposal, despite several requests sent to the Wolf administration from House and Senate members.
In a letter sent earlier this week to CAC Chairman Jerome Shabazz, State Sen. Gene Yaw (R-23) highlighted the drastic changes the Pennsylvania economy has faced since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that, in two months, 20 percent of the state workforce, or 1.8 million people, applied for unemployment compensation benefits.
“Should DEP continue on the current regulatory path to implement a carbon dioxide budget trading program, it will only add to that suffering as power plants and businesses that supply them will likely be forced to shut down, and the communities that they support will experience additional unnecessary pain,” Yaw wrote.
He continued, stating that a more robust and transparent conversation is needed with respect to RGGI and an effective carbon dioxide emissions plan.
“[RGGI states] do not produce electricity to our magnitude, but yet rely on the electricity that Pennsylvania produces,” Yaw argued. “The result is that they have lower emissions from electric generation facilities because they have very little…Further, Pennsylvania can be required to buy credits from a RGGI state while they sit and use our electricity but tell us, collectively, that our emissions in producing the electricity they use are too high…One may cynically conclude that as crafted, the proposal does not meaningfully reduce carbon emissions so much as simply raise revenue for DEP to spend on grants and projects.”
State Rep. Jim Struzzi (R-Indiana) applauded the CAC dissenting vote, stating that it helps protect Pennsylvania energy jobs, and pushed for the advancement of his House Bill 2025. The legislation would require authorization before Pennsylvania could impose a carbon tax on employers engaged in electric generation, manufacturing or other industries operating in the Commonwealth. It would also require authorization for the Commonwealth before entering into any multi-state program, such as RGGI, that would impose such a tax.
Carl Marrara, vice president of government affairs for the Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association, said in comments submitted to the council that no laws or regulations should be put in place that would put Pennsylvania at a competitive disadvantage, especially if the Commonwealth is meeting and exceeding goals under the current market climate.
“Governor Wolf’s proposed targeted emission reductions of 26 percent by the year 2025 is well within striking distance. The private sector has led the way, doing what the private sector does best – inventing, innovating, and forging a better future for all of us,” Marrara said. Energy-related CO2 emissions have decreased 22 percent from 2005 to 2016 and that percentage is expected to increase, he added.
“Governor Wolf’s goals are being met without entering Pennsylvania into a regional accord that will thwart private sector innovation, forcing layoffs of thousands of our commonwealth’s workers, and putting our economy into a tailspin as entire communities will be negatively impacted,” Marrara said.