Pennsylvania state lawmakers in both parties have a message for Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, and it goes something like this: No taxation without representation!
That message came through loud and clear in September when the General Assembly passed legislation that would prohibit the governor from joining a multi-state climate change agreement without legislative approval. The Senate vote was just one vote shy of a veto-proof majority with five Democrats joining with Republicans to support the bill. On the House side, seven Democrats served as co-sponsors of the bill, which passed by a wide margin in July.
Wolf, taking inspiration from King George III, nevertheless has decided to bypass the General Assembly with a regulatory package that ignores scientific findings and economic realities. Earlier this month, he vetoed the legislation that would have enabled the people’s elected representatives to exercise a straight up or down vote on the merits of carbon taxes. In his veto message, Wolf said the legislation prohibiting unilateral executive actions is “extremely dangerous to public health and welfare.” Why would that be?
There is a “global climate crisis.” That’s what Wolf says in his public statement explaining his veto. Not only that, but the governor finds Pennsylvania is already experiencing “adverse impacts from climate change.” He cites “higher temperatures” and “frequent extreme weather events” as examples of adverse impacts. Therefore, Wolf is calling for drastic action in the form of anti-industry regulations that, from his point of view, cannot take a back seat to constitutional government.
The legislation was vetoed, the governor explained, because it would prevent the commonwealth from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, a compact among northeastern and mid-Atlantic states that currently includes Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and New Jersey, with Virginia set to join in 2021.
Wolf’s Department of Environmental Protection recently unveiled a regulatory proposal that would impose restrictions on Pennsylvania’s power plant emissions in line with the compact’s requirements.
“Under the proposed regulation, electric power plants that emit carbon dioxide will be required to obtain credits compatible with other states,” a department press release says. “Modeling from the DEP shows that participating in RGGI will decrease climate change causing carbon dioxide pollution as well as generate new jobs and reduce air pollution related illness.”
This is what is known as a “cap and trade” arrangement — when electric utilities that emit more greenhouse gases than their assigned cap must purchase allowances at an auction to offset their excess emissions.
Tom Pyle is president of the Institute for Energy Research, a Washington-based group that favors free market policies. He questions the entire premise of the Wolf plan and rejects calls for government intervention. For starters, he points out Pennsylvania has already reduced carbon dioxide emissions by switching over to natural gas. Pyle cites figures that show how low natural gas prices have led to more natural gas generating capacity that has helped to reduce carbon emissions by 33% in Pennsylvania.
“The natural gas revolution is producing economic and environmental benefits for the people of Pennsylvania,” Pyle said. “The results are in, and the free market is working. It makes no sense as a matter of policy for Wolf to impose new regulations that will raise energy prices on average residents without any environmental benefit, and it makes even less sense to do this in the middle of a pandemic.”
The cost of carbon allowances increased by 18.6%, according to RGGI’s own figures. Allowances sold for $6.82 per metric ton in the third quarter of this year, which is $1.07 higher than the previous quarter. The auction raised $110.4 million, which will be added to consumer electricity bills with the proceeds dispersed among the 10 states in RGGI. This is where the carbon tax comes into play. Wolf’s own estimates show the tax would produce $2.36 billion over the next decade. Pennsylvania energy consumers will be compelled to pay this additional cost through their electricity bills.
State Sen. Gene Yaw, chairman of the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, notes in a statement responding to Wolf’s regulatory proposal that Pennsylvania has already reduced carbon emissions at a greater pace than what the RGGI states have achieved since they began trading allowances in 2009. “This was all accomplished without a government mandate and at great savings to consumers,” Yaw says.
Instead of Pennsylvania joining RGGI, the existing RGGI states should follow Pennsylvania’s example. The electricity prices paid by consumers in the 10 RGGI states are 50% higher than those in Pennsylvania.
“Pennsylvania’s economy has boomed because of hydraulic fracturing,” Pyle also said. “This has enabled the state to become the second-largest producer of natural gas in the nation. The fracking boom has, in turn, attracted other job-creating industries.”
But what about that climate crisis Wolf cited while sidestepping legislative approval for his carbon tax? Caleb Stewart Rossiter, executive director of the Virginia nonprofit organization CO2 Coalition, dismantled Wolf’s arguments during recent testimony on the House side. “We are not in a CO2-driven climate crisis,” he said in his testimony. “That is the scientific fact. Some models predict we may be in one in a hundred years, but even their estimated damages pale next to the fossil-fueled increase in wealth we will have on hand to address them. And remember, there are benefits to CO2 emissions since the molecule is a crucial plant and plankton food.”
It would seem there is no rationale for Pennsylvania to join RGGI other than enabling government officials to exercise more control over the private sector.
Kevin Mooney (@KevinMooneyDC) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is an investigative reporter in Washington, D.C., who writes for several national publications.
