The Environmental Resources and Energy committee of the state senate has approved another letter to oppose Pennsylvania joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative—also known as RGGI.
Republican Senator Joe Pittman, who represents a portion of Butler County, recently spoke about the opposition to this initiative expressed in this latest letter to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission.
“Behind this letter are thousands of families that I represent who rely on the production of electricity that happens to be carbon-emitting electricity for their livelihood not only for themselves but for their children,” Pittman said.
RGGI establishes a regional cap on the amount of carbon dioxide pollution that power plants can emit by issuing a limited number of tradable CO-2 allowances.
“For 22 months since this executive order was issued, I have yet to have one person from the governor’s administration to set foot in my Senatorial district to have any conversations related to the impact of RGGI,” Pittman said.
11 other states are a part of this initiative, but Pittman argues that energy production and the jobs that go with them will just be shifted to neighboring states like Ohio and West Virginia.
