Climate Policy: Decarbonizing Pennsylvania
Introduction
The climate crisis is accelerating and intensifying. Clean Air Council urges sweeping policy efforts at the local, state, and federal levels to dramatically cut greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by 2030 to maintain the possibility of avoiding the worst impacts of climate change. This will provide a pathway to net-zero emissions by mid-century. To meet our promised climate targets, fossil fuels need strict regulatory controls and must be deliberately phased out with careful planning as quickly as possible.
The Problem
Pennsylvania has long been a fossil fuel state given its extensive resources of coal, oil, and gas. Extracting and burning fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, into the atmosphere. Heavy industrial activities like cement and steel production also contribute to Pennsylvania’s emissions footprint. GHGs absorb infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface and reradiate it back to the surface, which drives global climate change and has far-ranging environmental and health impacts. Pennsylvania remains the third-largest coal producing state in the country, although its coal production has declined significantly this century. Coal has largely been replaced by fossil gas, which is primarily composed of methane, an extremely potent GHG. Although gas has a lower carbon intensity than coal when it’s burned, methane leaks across every stage of the gas supply chain, which research shows could make using gas for electricity actually worse than coal for accelerating climate change. And Pennsylvania is now the second-largest gas producing state in the country. A 2020 analysis estimated Pennsylvania oil and gas operations are emitting over 1.1 million tons of methane annually, and the problem is getting worse.
The Solutions
While we push to quickly phase out the use of, and demand for, coal and gas throughout our society, there are a number of critical legal and policy tools available to curb climate change. Pennsylvania and the Environmental Protection Agency must adopt strong air pollution rules that require oil and gas companies to look for and repair methane leaks, which add up to a staggering amount of climate pollution. It’s a commonsense approach that actually saves gas companies money and product. All wells are capable of emitting dangerous pollution, even if they produce relatively little gas. Frequent monitoring and inspections are key.
The Council is urging Pennsylvania to finally put a price on carbon and make polluters pay for the carbon emissions that have imposed an undue cost on Pennsylvania communities and families for decades. In 2019, Clean Air Council spearheaded a coalition of over 200 non-profits, universities, municipal organizations, faith groups, attorneys, scientists, and advocates in drafting and submitting a comprehensive set of regulations that would implement an economy-wide price on carbon in Pennsylvania with a target for net-zero emissions by mid-century. The coalition submitted the rulemaking petition to the Environmental Quality Board, Pennsyvlvania’s environmental rulemaking body, and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is currently evaluating it. In October 2019, Governor Wolf ordered DEP to draft rules to implement a carbon price on electric power plants through a CO2 Budget Trading Program compatible with the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). That power sector program is expected to take effect in early 2022. It is projected to reduce up to 227 million tons of carbon pollution by 2030, while resulting in over $6 billion in monetized health benefits for Pennsylvania and hundreds of millions of dollars in annual proceeds for reinvestment in our communities. The Council is urging the DEP to prioritize investments in low-income communities and communities of color.
The Council is also urging our state government to adopt zero-emission vehicle rules that would set requirements to ensure automakers produce a certain percentage of electric vehicles (EV) compared to non-electric ones. About one-quarter of Pennsylvania’s GHG emissions come from transportation sources. A necessary complementary measure would involve funding additional EV infrastructure so an owner of an electric car can easily find a spot in their neighborhood or on the PA Turnpike to charge their car. We also need to look beyond simply switching motors in the vehicles we drive. We need to incentivize transportation mode shifting by making substantial investments in public transit, railways, bike trails, and walkable corridors in our cities and suburbs.
About 11% of Pennsylvania’s GHG pollution comes from burning fossil fuels to heat space and water in our residential homes and commercial buildings. In Philadelphia, our building stock contributes more than 70% of the city’s GHG emissions. We need to move quickly to incentivize all new buildings to run on electricity (not fossil fuels), while taking bold steps to retrofit and electrify our existing buildings. This can happen by adopting strong municipal ordinances, as well as pushing for significant federal investments in building retrofits.
Take Action
Come back soon for actions to advance good climate policy in Pennsylvania.
