Emily Pomilio, emily.pomilio@sierraclub.org, (480) 286-0401
Tom Schuster, tom.schuster@sierraclub.org, (814) 915-4231
Harrisburgh, P.A. - The Pennsylvania Senate approved House Bill 2025 today, which would remove the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) legal authority to regulate climate-disrupting carbon dioxide pollution from any source within the Commonwealth. This bill, which passed in the House in July, would prevent Pennsylvania’s participation in the "cap-and-invest" program known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) which is currently being developed. The legislation goes even further to prevent DEP from implementing any regulations of greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). Governor Wolf is expected to veto the legislation.
Currently, Pennsylvania is the fourth largest emitter of energy-related carbon pollution in the country and power plants are among the largest sources of carbon emissions in the state. According to a Yale Program on Climate Change Communication poll, 73% of Pennsylvanians believe that carbon dioxide should be regulated in the state. RGGI is a program to do exactly that. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that we must cut greenhouse gases by half over the next decade and completely eliminate them by 2050 in order to have a chance of stabilizing our climate.
In response, Tom Schuster, Pennsylvania Clean Energy Program Director said:
“It seems the Pennsylvania legislature doesn’t care about stabilizing the climate or protecting their constituents from the harm pollution can cause to their communities now and in the future. This legislation reflects dangerous, wishful thinking by legislators who think they can forestall necessary and ultimately inevitable changes to how we power our state. Joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) will not only reduce pollution from power plants, it will also help stimulate the clean energy economy and create thousands of local jobs. This vote is completely out of step with the will of a strong majority of Pennsylvanians who support decisive action to protect the climate on which our entire economy depends. Through a veto from Governor Wolf, we’ll see what real climate leadership looks like in the state, instead of putting polluter profits over people.”
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The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.