Environment

Facing criticism, Shapiro stands by move to regulate RGGI

Attorney General Josh Shapiro

Attorney General Josh Shapiro Commonwealth Media Services

As Republicans lob criticisms at Attorney General Josh Shapiro over his stance on Gov. Tom Wolf’s plan to cap carbon emissions from the state’s electricity sector, the Democratic gubernatorial hopeful is standing by his office’s decision to sign off on the controversial regulation. 

Shapiro’s office determined in late November that the regulation, which would pave the way for Pennsylvania to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative – a multistate effort to curb emissions – met state requirements under the Commonwealth Attorneys Act. That decision came despite prior comments from Shapiro expressing reservations about the impact capping power sector emissions could have on the state’s economy. 

In a statement, the attorney general’s office said state law does not prevent the regulation from moving forward in the regulatory process and that the Commonwealth Attorneys Act does not give Shapiro the ability to block a regulation based on matters of policy. According to the act, the attorney general may object to a regulation if it is in “improper form” or “not statutorily authorized or unconstitutional.”

"The Office of Legal Review analyzed the rule making packet and determined that existing state law does not prevent this regulation from being promulgated,” a spokesperson for Shapiro’s office said. “The rule of law is the foundation of all the work of our office. The scope of our review under the Commonwealth Attorneys Act is limited and we are prevented by law from rejecting a proposed regulation based on policy concerns."

The regulation, once it takes effect, would establish a carbon trading program in the state that places a cap on carbon emissions produced by power plants. Under the plan, emitters would be required to purchase allowances in order to be able to continue emitting carbon, and the number of available allowances would decrease over time. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection estimates that the program would reduce carbon emissions by 31% compared to 2019 levels. The state’s CO2 budget would start at 78 million tons in 2022 and be lowered to 58 million tons in 2030.

The plan has angered lawmakers in the western part of the state who fear that the plan would force fossil fuel-fired power plants to prematurely close, resulting in job losses and economic harm to communities that house the power plants.

This week, Republican lawmakers in the state Senate criticized the decision from Shapiro’s office to approve the regulation. “Just a few short weeks ago at a campaign stop in Indiana County, Josh Shapiro said he had real concerns that RGGI would hurt families at a time when many are struggling to put food on the table,” Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman and Sens. Gene Yaw and Joe Pittman said in a joint statement. “Speaking to a pro-energy community, he pledged to protect energy jobs. However, when he had an opportunity last month to keep his promise to those working families, he completely failed them.”

The GOP lawmakers (including Corman, who is also running for governor) accused Shapiro of putting “his own political interests ahead of his duty to stand up for the people.”

A spokesperson for Shapiro’s gubernatorial campaign said Shapiro’s stance on RGGI has not changed. "Form and legality is a narrow legal process as determined by the Commonwealth Attorneys Act, so I'd direct you to OAG for any comment on their recent work,” said Shapiro spokesperson Will Simons. “Josh Shapiro's position towards RGGI remains the same.”

In late October, The Associated Press reported that Shapiro had concerns about the state’s entrance into RGGI. “We need to take real action to address climate change, protect and create energy jobs and ensure Pennsylvania has reliable, affordable and clean power for the long term,” Shapiro said. “As governor, I will implement an energy strategy which passes that test, and it’s not clear to me that RGGI does.”

Shapiro later told City & State that as governor, he would “make a determination” about whether the state’s entrance into RGGI can simultaneously protect jobs and address climate change.

“I think it is a false choice to suggest that somehow we have to either protect our planet or protect jobs – that somehow we have to choose between environmental justice and the dignity of work,” Shapiro said. “Those are false choices.”

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.