Despite major concerns from regulators, voters, and legislators, Gov. Wolf is trying to impose a carbon tax on electricity production via the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Yesterday, the Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee voted to ask the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) to reject the governor’s unilateral effort to push the commonwealth into RGGI.

Commonwealth Foundation agrees with the committee’s stance. Below are facts based on data gathered by DR. David Stevenson of the Ceasar Rodney Institute, the Congressional Research Institute, and the IRRC.

Economic consequences of RGGI:

• It will cost energy consumers (from small businesses to average residents) approximately $2 Billion over a 9 year period.
• It will cost kill approximately 22,000 jobs by hampering Pennsylvania’s robust electricity exports to other states and increasing energy costs.
• It will cost the state government approximately $282 million in tax receipts due to economic roadblocks caused by the accord, outweighing projected carbon tax revenue.
• It will reduce total economic output in Pennsylvania by an estimated $7.7 billion.

The real impact of RGGI on the environment:

• Between 2007 and 2019, Pennsylvania reduced emissions by 40% without being a part of RGGI while states that were a part of the initiative reduced carbon emissions by 37%. In other words, Pennsylvania’s transition into a natural gas producing powerhouse did more to reduce emissions than RGGI did in the states that joined it.
• A low-end estimate of the emissions shifted to other states if Pennsylvania joins RGGI is 11 Million Metric tons.

Michael Torres
Director of Media
Commonwealth Foundation
850-619-2737 (cell)
CommonwealthFoundation.org