Wind turbines at the Stoney Creek Wind Farm in Somerset County, Pennsylvania (Peter Hall/Capital-Star)
A compromise sacrificing Pennsylvania’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) to end the Commonwealth’s four-month budget impasse would be shortsighted and harmful, environmental and pristine energy advocates say.
Gov. Josh Shapiro and lawmakers negotiating the spending plan have been mute on what is and isn’t on the table. But Republicans, who control the state Senate and have rejected Democratic budget proposals, strongly oppose the carbon reduction program.
Currently, environmentalists say, Senate Republicans are refusing to take action on the budget as schools and social programs desperately wait for state funding until lawmakers Shapiro and Democrats agree to repeal the legislation bringing Pennsylvania into RGGI.
“As the governor himself has often said, this is a false choice between a healthy environment and our economy, and now our environmental advocates in Harrisburg, many of whom support me today, must take a stand against it,” Molly Parzens, executive director of Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, said at a press conference Thursday.
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A spokesman for Shapiro said Thursday that his office would not comment on budget negotiations. Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Ind.)’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
RGGI aims to reduce climate-warming carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by requiring their owners to invest in pristine energy projects. The multi-state program has been in place in more than a dozen Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern states for more than a decade.
It halved carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by introducing a workable, decreasing limit on the amount of climate pollutants that fossil fuel power plants can emit. Participating countries have recorded investments of over $9 billion and are expected to save consumers $20 billion in energy costs as a result.
Former Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf joined the program in 2019 via executive order. Republicans, who controlled both houses of the General Assembly at the time, argued that it infringed on their legislative authority and amounted to an illegal energy tax.
Condition The Supreme Court heard the arguments last May from the Shapiro administration that controlling greenhouse gas emissions was part of the state Department of Environmental Protection’s broad air pollution control authority. Lawyers for Senate Republicans say the regulations encroach on political decisions about the state’s energy economy, which are the domain of lawmakers, not the executive branch.
A decision on this matter may be made at any time.
Robert Routh, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said at a press conference in Philadelphia that withdrawing from RGGI before the court’s decision would be shortsighted because the decision would not overturn the administration’s ability to regulate emissions.
“Regardless of the court’s ruling, the Supreme Court’s decision will affect how Pennsylvania can develop climate pollution control rules under the Air Pollution Control Act, not whether the state will be able to do so,” Routh said.
“There is, of course, the possibility that the court will rule in RGGI’s favor, uphold the constitutionality of the rule as currently designed, and deliver a huge victory to Pennsylvanians that lowers costs, reduces pollution and creates jobs,” Routh said. “I urge people to realize that giving up this opportunity at the goal line would be a costly mistake.”
Last month, on the 100th day of gridlock, House Minority Leader Jesse Topper (R-Bedford) told reporters that budget discussions go beyond the economic reality in Pennsylvania. GOP lawmakers opposed Shapiro’s proposal to spend the state budget surplus and tap into the $7 billion rainy day fund, arguing that doing so ignores the structural deficit.
To avoid that, the state needs sustained economic growth, and Topper argued that the way to achieve that goal is to unlock Pennsylvania’s fossil fuel resources.
“What we have under our feet in terms of natural resources would make every country in the EU green with envy, and yet we continue to lose our opportunities,” Topper said, arguing that RGGI is causing instability in state energy markets.
“We must leave RGGI once and for all,” he said, noting that House Republicans planned to file a discharge motion to force a majority vote on the Senate bill to repeal the RGGI regulations.
That same day, House Democrats increased pressure on Senate GOP leaders before passing a $50.6 billion spending plan in response to the Senate’s July single funding proposal. Majority Leader Matt Bradford (D-Montgomery) told reporters that Democrats are willing to compromise on “every single issue.”
“There are 102 Democrats who would be heartbroken by almost any of these compromises, but we will do it because the government must be open and it must work,” Bradford said.
Asked whether openness to compromise extends to the Senate’s RGGI bill, Bradford admitted there are two areas where his caucus will not pass the budget. One of them, he said, was taxpayer-funded vouchers for private school tuition.
The second: “No, we will not leave RGGI without taking care of the environment, period.”
