Josh Shapiro's budget proposal includes Regional Greenhouse Gas ... - NPR

Josh Shapiro’s budget proposal includes Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative | StateImpact Pennsylvania

The coal-fired Homer City Generating Station. Planned shutdowns could leave Homer City as the last large, traditional coal-fired power plant in the state still operating by decade’s end.

Reid R. Frazier / StateImpact Pennsylvania

The coal-fired Homer City Generating Station. Planned shutdowns could leave Homer City as the last large, traditional coal-fired power plant in the state still operating by decade’s end.

Reid R. Frazier / StateImpact Pennsylvania

The coal-fired Homer City Generating Station. Planned shutdowns could leave Homer City as the last large, traditional coal-fired power plant in the state still operating by decade’s end.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed budget assumes Pennsylvania will charge power plants for their carbon dioxide pollution and raise more than $600 million in the next year.

Former Gov. Tom Wolf’s Administration pushed for more than two years to get the state into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade program among 12 states. The regulation allowing Pennsylvania to join has been on hold since July because of a court challenge.

Shapiro did not talk about RGGI in his budget address Tuesday, but said, “I believe we can do both – we can embrace the Commonwealth’s role as an energy leader, create good paying jobs, and fulfill our constitutional obligation to protect Pennsylvania’s clean air and pure water.”

As a candidate, Shapiro said he was concerned RGGI would not provide the right balance of reducing emissions while protecting jobs.

His administration says including the program in the budget does not indicate a change in the governor’s stance, but accounts for the program should it be allowed to move forward.

Republican lawmakers opposed the effort, saying it would hurt the state’s energy economy and eliminate jobs in coal communities. The legislature tried several times to stop the program, but failed.

There’s overwhelming scientific evidence that human activity is warming Earth at an unprecedented rate. It’s already responsible for extreme weather, rising sea levels, and more severe droughts worldwide. Pennsylvania is on track for more intense heat waves and stronger storms in coming years, the Department of Environmental Protection says.

Scientists stress that rapid action is crucial to avoid the worst effects. Pa.’s most recent Climate Action Plan calls for an 80% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, compared to 2005 levels.

Doing that will require hard choices by the nation’s fourth-largest carbon emitter: Pennsylvania must figure out how to cut emissions while planning for the future of people and communities that rely on the fossil fuel industry.

Join the discussion about climate and Pa. at Climate Solutions.

State Rep. Jim Struzzi (R-Indiana), who led opposition to RGGI, criticized the program’s inclusion in the budget. He said Shapiro doesn’t have a plan to address potential job losses or increased energy prices.

Some environmental groups were encouraged by seeing RGGI in the budget.

“We have a clear and present opportunity to supercharge the state’s clean energy economy by maximizing benefits from the Inflation Reduction Act and implementing the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to build a cleaner, more equitable future for all Pennsylvanians,” said Jackson Morris, a senior adviser to the Natural Resources Defense Council Action Fund.

The projected $663 million raised from allowance auctions would not go to the state’s general fund, but would be restricted to the Clean Air Fund, which can only be used to reduce air pollution.

The General Assembly could pass a law that would divert money from the Clean Air Fund to other initiatives, such as economic development or job training for displaced workers, but lawmakers in the Republican-led legislature declined to take up such proposals in the last session.

Democrats now control the House, but so far have not introduced a plan for RGGI funds.

Shapiro is planning to convene a working group of people from all sides of the RGGI discussion to chart a path forward for his administration.