Pennsylvania’s Fight to Join Cap and Trade Program: Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

Pennsylvania’s state senate is proposing a bill that would block the state from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) — a compact of 11 New England and Mid-Atlantic states, with over a decade-long track record, to reduce carbon emissions and bring home revenue.

Like all cap and trade programs, the concept sets a total carbon allowance for power plants operating within states that belong to the compact. A power plant then can either transition toward cleaner energy or buy CO2 allowances, with revenues from these purchases going back to RGGI states. Raising the price of carbon-based energy makes competitive solutions, e.g., renewables, more appealing.

The good news is that it appears Pennsylvania will, in fact, be joining the initiative, which is projected to reduce the state’s carbon emissions 25% by 2030.  Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed a similar bill last year, and is prepared to do the same here.

The alarming part of all this is that voting for initiatives like this goes down precisely along party lines.  We live in a time in which an entire political party, funded largely by wealthy donors with ties to fossil fuels, does everything in its power to block efforts to decarbonize our energy and transportation sectors.

How will this work out?  Sure is hot around here.