Climate Threat Drives Need to Set Strong Limits on Carbon Pollution in Pennsylvania

(Pittsburgh, Pa. – November 29, 2018) A new report is providing more proof that Pennsylvania needs to act to protect the climate by putting a real and declining limit on carbon emissions.

The report was released this morning by a state legislature caucus  – just one day after a similar discussion in a Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing on efforts to address climate change.

“It’s clear that Pennsylvania can, and must, set a declining limit on carbon emissions to protect families and communities across the state from the growing threat of climate change” said Andrew Williams, Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs for Environmental Defense Fund. “The federal government’s leadership on climate may be stalled for the moment, but other states are leading the way. Pennsylvania can – and should – step up and create a system with flexible, market-based solutions that will reduce climate pollution.”

Pennsylvania is the only state in the Northeast without a hard limit on carbon pollution from the power sector – or any plan to put one in place. Such a policy would drive cost-effective investment in zero-emission resources, and ensure that the Commonwealth is achieving necessary pollution reductions at the lowest cost.

The Trump administration has said it will withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord, but Pennsylvania and other states can still work to meet the accord’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals of up to 28 percent below the 2005 level by 2025.