Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Gov. Wolf Vetoes Resolution That Would Kill Carbon Pollution Reduction Program For Power Plants; General Assembly Failed To Act Within Statutory Deadlines

On January 10, Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed and disapproved Senate Concurrent Regulatory Review Resolution 1, which would have disabled the Commonwealth’s opportunity to enter the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) and effectively achieve climate goals and reduce carbon emissions. 

The concurrent resolution is also procedurally defective, as the General Assembly failed to adopt it within the statutory timeframe prescribed in the Regulatory Review Act.

Click Here for veto message.

Pennsylvania is facing a climate crisis. RGGI is a solution that would stimulate the economy to the tune of $2 billion​ while reducing harmful greenhouse gases. 

This is a plan that 72 percent of Pennsylvanians support. By reducing air pollution, it would improve public health with 30,000 fewer respiratory hospital visits. 

“I am vetoing, disapproving, and returning the Concurrent Resolution because Final Form Regulation 7-559 is a vital step for Pennsylvania to reduce carbon emissions and achieve our climate goals.  Addressing the global climate crisis is one of the most important and critical challenges we face. 

Final Form Regulation 7-559 authorizes Pennsylvania’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) under the authority of the Air Pollution Control Act.  

While the Republican-controlled General Assembly has failed to take any measures to address climate change, by joining RGGI, my Administration will take a historic, proactive, and progressive approach that will have significant positive environmental, public health, and economic impacts. 

In addition to the environmental benefits, participating in this initiative will allow Pennsylvania to make targeted investments that will support workers and communities affected by energy transition.”

With power generation being one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, joining RGGI is a commonsense solution that would have an immediate impact on Pennsylvania’s climate and public health.

Gov. Wolf has prioritized addressing climate change, one of the most important global challenges of our lifetime. 

In 2019, the governor set Pennsylvania’s first statewide climate goals, aiming to reduce greenhouse gases by 80 percent by 2050. Participating in RGGI would help toward achieving these goals. Learn more about the Wolf Administration’s efforts to address the climate crisis in the Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan.

Visit DEP’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative webpage for more information.

Veto Override

There is no doubt the General Assembly will try to override the Governor’s veto of the resolution starting in the Senate since it was a Senate resolution.

“The governor says his veto is reflective of a majority of Pennsylvanians who support his shortsighted climate actions,” said Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming), Majority Chair of the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. “As if the 162 lawmakers who oppose RGGI weren’t also elected to represent the concerns of millions of Pennsylvanians who will ultimately pay the price for RGGI.”

“The General Assembly must act swiftly to override this veto and protect residents from the havoc RGGI will wreak on their wallets and lives,” Sen. Yaw said.

“RGGI will spell disaster for our state,” Sen. Yaw said. “The program’s de facto carbon tax levied on power producers will translate into electricity bills spiking by double digits, ballooning fuel costs and price increases on just about everything we use daily. Thousands of jobs will disappear. And zero carbon emissions will be removed from the atmosphere.”

“Remember when the department said RGGI auction clearing prices wouldn’t crest above $3.00 per ton? RGGI’s most recent auction, completed on Dec. 1, set a clearing price of $13 per ton – more than four times the rate DEP forecasted and a 40% increase over the Sept. 8 auction clearing price alone,” Sen. Yaw said. “It’s a tax that will hit the poorest among us the hardest – and for the benefit of whom exactly?”

Reaction

The York County-based Evangelical Environmental Network, along with over 30,500 pro-life Christians who submitted comments supporting Pennsylvania joining the Regional Green House Gas Initiative, is thankful to Gov. Wolf for vetoing the General Assembly’s ill-advised S.C.R.R.R. 1 that would have severely cost our state by denying RGGI membership.

These comments acknowledge that Pennsylvania has some of the worst air quality in the nation, and emissions from fossil-fuel-burning power plants are a major source of these toxins that harm the lungs, hearts, brains, and overall lives of our children.

“As a pro-life Christian, I am deeply concerned that pollution harms unborn and born children and causes damage that lasts a lifetime. Dirty air has grave consequences for the health of our children and other vulnerable populations, like the elderly. That’s why I support Governor Wolf’s plan to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that will apply market-based solutions to reduce the health impacts from power plant pollution, helping boost jobs and save precious lives in Pennsylvania.”

“As people of faith, we believe God creates new things and calls us to leave the past behind (“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” – Isaiah 43:19 NIV). 

“Pennsylvania has always been a leader in energy production. From our founding, our forests have heated our homes, powered industry, and produced charcoal for iron production. We later turned to coal for energy and, in recent years, to methane. 

“As Pennsylvanians, we have always been innovators. But while energy has brought immense benefit to Pennsylvanians, it has also come at a terrible cost. 

“By the 1890s, our forests were all but gone until the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps replanted them. 

“Coal fouled our air, water, and the lungs and hearts of workers and children alike. 

“Now, natural gas spews poisons that threaten our health, has left over 300,000 abandoned/orphaned leaking wells, and has created carbon pollution that rapidly fuels climate change.

“It's time to create a new energy economy to keep PA as an energy leader for the next century. RGGI supplies a market way to accurately count the full costs of fossil fuel generation while at the same time providing the revenue needed to ease the burden for workers and communities transitioning away from fossil fuels and aid those experiencing the worst consequences of fossil fuel legacy pollution.

“Gov. Wolf made the right decision to defend RGGI and veto S.C.R.R.R. 1. Not only do 30,000 pro-life Christians applaud the Governor’s decision, so do 72 percent of Pennsylvania voters.”

Other Reactions:

-- Sen. Yaw: Override Necessary To Protect Pennsylvanians From Gov. Wolf’s Carbon Tax

-- Republican Sen. Pittman Reacts To Wolf Veto Of RGGI Disapproval Resolution

-- Senate Republican Caucus Response To Gov. Wolf’s Veto Of RGGI Resolution

-- Gov. Wolf: Energy, Environment, Faith Sustainability, Immigration Advocacy Groups Support Veto Of RGGI Resolution

NewsClips:

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: Wolf Vetoes Measure To Block RGGI Entrance

-- PennLive - Charles Thompson: With Veto, Wolf Keeps Key Climate Change Initiative Breathing, Why Should You Care?

-- PA Cap-Star: Wolf Vetoes Republican Effort To Block Carbon Fee On PA Power Plants

Related Articles:

-- How Did We Get Here: Background On The Final EQB Regulation Reducing Carbon Pollution From Power Plants [RGGI]

-- ​​Sen. Street Introduces Bill To Set A New Clean Energy Standard And Support Carbon Capture To Eliminate All Carbon Dioxide Emissions From Power Plants By 2050

[Posted: January 11, 2022]  PA Environment Digest

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