Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on Tuesday issued a one-line order that will prevent Pennsylvania from joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
The order said that it will not allow the official publication of the regulation “pending further order of the court.” The regulation was to be published this Saturday, and would have joined the state to RGGI on July 1st. The court sided with Republican members of the state legislature who have been against the move, saying it would cause the state to lose jobs, force coal-fired power plants to close, and increase consumer electric bills. Democrats claim that it is a key part in reducing carbon emissions in the state, and would speed up Pennsylvania’s transition to a clean-energy-based economy.
RGGI would force fossil-fuel-fired power plants to pay a price for every ton of carbon dioxide they emit starting July 1st. The Wolf Administration said Tuesday night that it was reviewing the order and is “committed to ensuring that this regulatory process continues to move forward.”
