Tell Gov. Shapiro: Reverse Pennsylvania’s Climate Retreat

Pennsylvania just made a heartbreaking and dangerous retreat from climate progress — and we cannot stay silent. Governor Josh Shapiro has formally withdrawn the Commonwealth from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), leaving one of the highest-polluting states in the country without a meaningful plan to cut emissions.

RGGI wasn’t perfect, but it worked: eleven states across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic have used this cap-and-trade program to cut power-sector pollution, invest in clean energy, modernize transit, and protect public health. Pennsylvania was poised to join that progress. Instead, Gov. Shapiro has walked away — making him the first governor of either party to sign legislation abandoning RGGI and dismantling his state’s only major climate policy.

This decision comes at the worst possible moment. Pennsylvania has the fourth-highest emissions in the nation. Climate disasters are hitting harder every year — from deadly heat waves to catastrophic flooding. And with Congress gridlocked and federal climate action hanging by a thread, states aren’t just “important” in the fight against climate change — they are our firewall.

RGGI would have brought hundreds of millions of dollars into Pennsylvania for clean energy jobs, home weatherization, and desperately needed transit funding. Philadelphia’s transit system is already on the brink of a budget crisis — the kind of crisis that RGGI revenue could have helped prevent. Walking away doesn’t “cut costs.” It cuts Pennsylvania off from its clean energy future.

Governor Shapiro may be positioning himself for a national political run, but abandoning climate action to appeal to conservatives is not leadership. It’s a betrayal of communities breathing polluted air, of workers who deserve clean-energy opportunities, and of younger generations fearing for their future.

Sign the petition demanding Governor Shapiro reverse course and deliver a real climate plan for Pennsylvania.

If Washington won’t lead, states must. And Pennsylvania — an energy powerhouse with everything to gain from a clean transition — should be showing the way, not falling behind.

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Source

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5605079-pennsylvania-rggi-northeast-climate-pact-shapiro/