Change for communities
Pennsylvania can create jobs and invest in job training as well as tackle climate change through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a market-based program that caps carbon pollution from power plants and creates a system for polluting plants to pay for the pollution they emit. RGGI has been a proven solution in 11 states so far. Pennsylvania could be next. Experts project RGGI will produce more than 27,000 jobs and cut carbon pollution by 188 million tons.
RGGI is an essential step, but the current proposal should be improved to protect all Pennsylvanians, especially low-income families, communities of color and other vulnerable populations who have been disproportionately harmed by climate change and pollution now and in the past.
In implementing RGGI, the state should closely monitor its effects, including whether emissions shift to communities already highly affected by pollution, and act to address such unintended consequences. Case studies of RGGI’s effects among communities of color and low- income communities can guide the state toward steps to avert any worsening of these pollution “hot spots.”
Forecasts show that RGGI will not produce major energy price increases, but Pennsylvania should nevertheless protect low-income families from any possibility that they will be disproportionately affected by increases in their energy bills. Some RGGI proceeds can be used to offset possible price impacts among low-income households and to invest in the communities that historically and presently face the burden of fossil fuel power plant pollution. This should include investments in community schools, green space and sustainable well-paying jobs.
The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania is fighting for environmental justice. We support this legislation because it could bring real change to communities of color and low income. Let’s improve the lives of all Pennsylvanians and move toward a healthier and more sustainable future.
KATHY COOK Environmental director League of Women Voters of
Pennsylvania