skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Friday, July 26, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Arson attacks paralyze French high-speed rail network hours before start of Olympics, the Obamas endorse Harris for President; A NY county creates facial recognition, privacy protections; Art breathes new life into pollution-ravaged MI community; 34 Years of the ADA.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Harris meets with Israeli PM Netanyahu and calls for a ceasefire. MI Rep. Rashida Tlaib faces backlash for a protest during Netanyahu's speech. And VA Sen. Mark Warner advocates for student debt relief.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

There's a gap between how rural and urban folks feel about the economy, Colorado's 'Rural is Rad' aims to connect outdoor businesses, more than a dozen of Maine's infrastructure sites face repeated flooding, and chocolate chip cookies rock August.

PA to Join Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

play audio
Play

Friday, October 4, 2019   

HARRISBURG, Pa. – Pennsylvania is taking a major step forward in its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Gov. Tom Wolf has set the wheels in motion for the Keystone State to join nine other states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

At a morning news conference on Thursday, the governor noted that climate change made 2018 the state's wettest year on record, and scientists predict the average temperature will rise more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050.

"We know what's causing this climate crisis, and we know that if we don't get control over the emission of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, the extreme weather will only get more extreme."

Wolf signed an executive order directing the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a rule to put a cap on carbon emissions from the power sector. Pennsylvania is the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions of all the states.

Mandy Warner, senior manager of climate and air policy with the Environmental Defense Fund says RGGI has a proven track record of bringing those emissions under control.

"The RGGI states combined have reduced carbon pollution from the power sector by over 45% in roughly the past decade," says Warner.

She says those states are anticipating another 30% reduction in carbon emissions in the next ten years.

The initiative sets annual caps on carbon emissions and auctions pollution credits to the power industry. According to Warner, those sales have returned some $2.8 billion to the RGGI states since 2009.

"We've seen a lot of consumer benefit from programs like energy efficiency deployment, at the same time that you're getting those really deep carbon emission reductions," says Warner.

The governor estimates it will take about two years for the Commonwealth to formulate and implement the rules necessary to be part of the initiative.

Disclosure: Environmental Defense Fund contributes to our fund for reporting on Climate Change/Air Quality, Energy Policy, Environment, Environmental Justice, Public Lands/Wilderness. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
According to the Tax Policy Center, for higher-income earners, sales taxes consume a lower share of their income than for other households. (Vitalii Vodolazskyi/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

As Nebraska state lawmakers convene for a special session on property tax reform called by Gov. Jim Pillen, groups are weighing in on the details …


play sound

Traveling around rural Minnesota can be difficult but in more than half the state, nonprofit transit systems are helping people get where they need …

Social Issues

play sound

Student loan forgiveness took center stage on Thursday at the American Federation of Teachers conference. The Biden administration has canceled more …


Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has introduced legislation to codify the Chevron Deference into law. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Recent Supreme Court rulings on air pollution are affecting Virginia and the nation. Climate advocates said the court overstepped its bounds in …

Health and Wellness

play sound

World Hepatitis Day is this Sunday, and for the Oregon Health Authority, it's an opportunity to promote its plan to eliminate hepatitis across the …

The Gender Shades project revealed facial recognition performed poorest for darker-skinned women, and performed best for lighter-skinned men. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Columbia County, New York, is implementing new facial recognition and privacy policies, following new upgrades to the county's surveillance cameras…

Health and Wellness

play sound

New York disability-rights advocates are celebrating the 34th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The 1990 …

Social Issues

play sound

As summer winds down and North Carolina students prepare to return to school, the focus shifts to the urgent need for better public education funding…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021