{"id":187,"date":"2021-02-04T17:04:14","date_gmt":"2021-02-04T17:04:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pym.org\/eco-justice-collaborative\/?page_id=187"},"modified":"2025-12-13T18:29:31","modified_gmt":"2025-12-13T18:29:31","slug":"pa-and-the-regional-greenhouse-gas-initiative","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/eco-justice-collaborative\/current-work\/pa-and-the-regional-greenhouse-gas-initiative\/","title":{"rendered":"PA | Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">On October 3, PA Governor Wolf issued an executive order announcing that PA will participate in RGGI, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>RGGI is a ten-year-old voluntary carbon market involving 9 New England and Mid-Atlantic state<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">s. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 New Jersey will become the 10<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> state on Jan 1, 2020, VA will join in 2021, and now also PA.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">By participating in RGGI, PA will adopt a framework that requires electric power plants to make annual reductions in their carbon emissions.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Known as a \u201ccap and trade\u201d program, carbon polluters are required to buy allowances for every ton of carbon they emit.\u00a0 The number of available allowances is limited (the cap) and reduced by 3% each year. Polluters that can reduce their emissions below the allowances they hold can sell (i.e. trade) allowances to other companies with emissions that exceed their allowances.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thus \u201ccap and trade\u201d creates incentives for companies to reduce their emissions as much as possible by investing in conservation and efficiency.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Since RGGI took effect in 2009, emissions from power plants in RGGI states have fallen by 47%, while economic growth in RGGI states was 31% higher than the rest of the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The nine RGGI states have received $3.2 billion since 2009 from the sale of credits, while the average retail price for electricity in those states has dropped by more than 5%.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>PA, as the first major fossil fuel producing state to join RGGI, will create its largest expansion<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">2nd largest natural gas producer (after TX) and 3rd largest coal producer (after WY and WV)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">4<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">th<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> largest carbon dioxide emitter with more than 33% coming from power plants.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">PA\u2019s emissions from electricity dropped 31% from 2010 to 2016 as natural gas replaced coal, but if natural gas continues to increase and replace nuclear, emissions will rapidly increase.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>The opposition has said:\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cGovernor Wolf\u2019s Cap and Trade Regulation will send PA energy prices soaring.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cTax payers will pay more every time they flip a switch, make breakfast, charge a phone.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201c. . . joining (RGGI ) would increase electricity bills by around $412 million a year.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>\u201cIs there anyone who can say this isn\u2019t going to cause higher energy prices.?\u201d\u00a0<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>There is!<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0 Forecasts by the research non-profit Resources for the Future and NRDC determined that:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cprices would not rise or fall more than a half a percent compared with business as usual\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u201cthe change in electricity prices would be unobservable\u201d even with \u201csignificant emissions reductions in PA and (thus in) the US. \u00a0 It\u2019s estimated to be only 34 cents\/month.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>How to allocate the income from the sale of allowances?<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0 PA generates more carbon than all other RGGI states combined.\u00a0 Annual revenues from auctioning allowances are projected to be $350 million, more than the state\u2019s recent budget shortfalls. Deciding how to use that revenue is critically important.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Most RGGI states invest about 50% in energy efficiency, solar, wind and other renewable <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">energy.\u00a0 This insures while emissions are reduced, the cost of electricity doesn\u2019t increase.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0PA could also use it to fund infrastructure, a just transition for displaced fossil fuel workers, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">public education, and adequate staffing of critical state government functions such as the DEP.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>What else could PA, i.e., Governor Wolf, and legislators do to reduce PA greenhouse gas emissions?<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Increase the renewable portfolio standard from 8% by 2021 to 18% by 2025.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Pass Community Solar legislation<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Build the electric vehicle refueling infrastructure statewide.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Improve public transit statewide<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Strengthen regulations to reduce methane emissions from gas extraction and transport.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Extend carbon markets to the rest of the economy and other greenhouse gases.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Suggestion:\u00a0 E-mail Governor Wolf at <\/b><a href=\"https:\/\/www.governor.pa.gov\/contact\/\"><b>https:\/\/www.governor.pa.gov\/contact\/<\/b><\/a><b> about your views.\u00a0 <\/b><b>In particular, how should PA use the income from the sale of emission allowances?<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On October 3, PA Governor Wolf issued an executive order announcing that PA will participate in RGGI, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. RGGI is a ten-year-old voluntary carbon market involving [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":417,"featured_media":0,"parent":57,"menu_order":2,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"iawp_total_views":10,"footnotes":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":""},"class_list":["post-187","page","type-page","status-publish","entry"],"ticketed":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/eco-justice-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/187","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/eco-justice-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/eco-justice-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/eco-justice-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/417"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/eco-justice-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/eco-justice-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/187\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/eco-justice-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/57"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pym.org\/eco-justice-collaborative\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}