Cindy Carr, cindy.carr@sierraclub.org
HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Today, the Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter joined with PennFuture, Clean Air Council, and Environmental Defense Fund to file appeals to the Commonwealth Court’s ruling earlier this month that blocked the state from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). Governor Josh Shapiro appealed the ruling last week.
RGGI is the nation’s first regional market-based program to set limits on carbon pollution, and generates funding for clean energy by requiring fossil fuel companies to pay for permits for their pollution. Currently, there are 11 states participating in RGGI - Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia. Governor Shapiro’s RGGI working group found that a cap-and-invest carbon pollution program is the best approach for Pennsylvania to reduce the state’s carbon emissions and tackle the climate crisis.
In response, Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter Director Tom Schuster issued the following statement:
“The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is the most important climate protection policy in Pennsylvania’s history, and we will not sit idly by as our air, water, and climate is irreparably polluted. Today, the Sierra Club, PennFuture, Clean Air Council, and Environmental Defense Fund took a step toward protecting our families and our environment, and we will continue this fight until every Pennsylvanian has access to clean air and water, affordable utility bills, and a future that is not threatened by the climate crisis.
“We urge the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to do the right thing for Pennsylvania families and overturn the Commonwealth Court’s previous ruling.”
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of 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.