Regional greenhouse gas program a winner for Pa.
Lawmakers in Pennsylvania have a real opportunity to combat the looming public health crisis of our generation, climate change, while rebuilding a stronger economy in the wake of COVID-19. Linking to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a flexible and proven cap-and-invest program that allows member states to reduce carbon emissions from the electric power sector, is a simple, cost-effective way to achieve that objective.
RGGI is a market-based program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Now in its 15th year, the program is comprised of 10 northeastern states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. Virginia is expected to join the program in 2021.
Here’s how it works. Polluters get to decide how they are going to reduce their carbon emissions, either by deploying technology at the plant to clean up their pollution or by purchasing and trading pollution “allowances” in a regional auction marketplace such as RGGI. Regulators set a firm, declining pollution limit (or cap) on an annual basis, and then facilitate compliance with this limit by issuing a finite number of “allowances” that are required to be held by any polluting companies to account for every ton of carbon dioxide pollution emitted.
RGGI holds regular auctions throughout the year for the purpose of trading these allowances, hence the term “cap-and-trade.” A more accurate term, however, is cap-and-invest, since one advantage of a program like RGGI is that proceeds generated from the auctions can be invested in energy efficiency, renewable energy and consumer benefit programs, all driving toward cleaning up our air and tackling climate change.
And yet, state legislators are looking to stop RGGI and its proven track record for job creation and sustained economic activity dead in its tracks. House Bill 2025, sponsored by Rep. Jim Struzzi (R-Indiana), is structured to allow dismissal of a proposed RGGI rulemaking through mere inaction, and is also in conflict with established statutory and constitutional law. The bill was voted out of the House and may be considered in the Senate. It is also out of step with the wishes of a majority of Pennsylvanians: In a 2019 poll, 79% of Pennsylvanians favor zeroing out carbon pollution from power plants along with strong support for climate action.
So far, states participating in RGGI have returned over $2 billion in proceeds for investment. Think of it: A program like RGGI can lead to the expansion of Pennsylvania’s 90,000 clean energy jobs, which have grown to outnumber jobs in the fossil fuel industry and position the state as a leader in the clean energy economy.
While some have blamed RGGI and other environmental regulations for the loss of coal jobs, the reality is the coal industry has been in decline for decades largely as a result of market forces that prioritize the lowest-cost electricity generation and attendant lower electricity costs to ratepayers. Nationally, more than 100,000 coal mining jobs were shed since 1985, and hundreds of coal-fired power plants closed in the last decade, with the declining costs of natural gas and renewables largely fueling this shift.
Pennsylvania knows this better than any state as it has been at the heart of unconventional natural gas development. Coal power generation in Pennsylvania dropped from 57% of total generation in 2010 to 25% in 2018, while natural gas increased its market share from 18% to 43% during that time, effectively replacing the bulk of coal-fired electric generation.
A program such as RGGI can also be used in support of workers and communities impacted by fossil fuel plant closures and Environmental Justice communities — the latter characterized by lower-income residents and communities of color habitually surrounded by highly polluting industries — that have borne the devastating impacts of pollution for far too long. Recently the state Department of Environmental Protection released an analysis, “Capping Carbon Pollution Would Save Hundreds of Lives and Billions of Dollars,” indicating that “participating in RGGI will lead to a net increase of more than 27,000 jobs and add $1.9 billion to the Gross State Product in Pennsylvania.”
Pennsylvania’s power sector, the fifth dirtiest in the nation, can achieve significant emission reductions through RGGI, spur economic development and save consumers money on electric bills. RGGI also has a 10-year history of delivering health and climate benefits to participating states. Residents in the Northeast are now experiencing significantly fewer premature deaths, heart attacks, and respiratory illnesses, welcome news for many seeing as how the health burdens of dangerous air pollution, like soot and smog, fall most heavily on communities of color. The potential soot and smog pollution reductions generated is great news for Pennsylvania as well, which has some of the worst air quality in the nation.
Considering the massive economic, health and climate benefits RGGI can offer Pennsylvanians, Gov. Tom Wolf is showing leadership in charting a course for RGGI pursuant to the authority granted to him by the state legislature under Pennsylvania’s Air Pollution Control Act. Specifically, as outlined in the governor’s Executive Order of October 2019 instructing DEP to pursue Pennsylvania’s linking to RGGI, the agency will soon propose a draft “rulemaking” document. The rulemaking process includes a public comment period, public hearings and legislative review. It generally takes 12-18 months and keeps Pennsylvania on track to link to RGGI in early 2022.
Lawmakers should not stand in the way and must seriously consider the overwhelming evidence in support of RGGI along with the expressed desires of a majority of their constituents.
Mandy Warner is director of climate and clean air policy at the Environmental Defense Fund, a national, nonpartisan environmental nonprofit organization with over 142,000 members and activists in Pennsylvania.