Press Releases

Governor Shapiro Appeals Court Ruling Blocking RGGI

Today, Gov. Josh Shapiro announced that his administration has appealed a Commonwealth court ruling that is currently blocking Pennsylvania from participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The announcement comes weeks after the court’s ruling and will move the case to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for consideration. 

In response, Evergreen Action Deputy State Policy Director Julia Kortrey released the following statement: 

“Today’s announcement from Governor Shapiro marks a crucial step toward ending this frivolous litigation once and for all. Participating in RGGI is essential to meeting the governor’s goals of protecting and creating energy jobs, addressing climate change, and ensuring reliable, affordable power for Pennsylvanians. But Republicans are determined to block these climate funds and benefits from their constituents for as long as possible. Pennsylvania’s delayed participation has already deprived the Commonwealth of millions of dollars in investments that would have otherwise gone to supporting local businesses, creating quality clean energy jobs, and reducing climate pollution. Gov. Shapiro is also rightfully maintaining the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s authority to collect fees under the Pennsylvania Air Pollution Control Act through this appeal. We thank the governor and his administration for acting quickly to appeal this misguided decision and look forward to the end of this year-long legal saga.” 

Earlier this year, Synapse Energy Economics issued findings from a report independently produced for Evergreen Collaborative and Ceres exploring the economic benefits of Pennsylvania’s participation in RGGI. The Synapse report finds that Pennsylvania’s participation in RGGI will result in: 

  • An estimated $1.5 billion reduction in energy costs for Pennsylvania’s residents, businesses, and industrial sector.

  • An average annual net decrease of $24 in utility bills for households.

  • $930 million of additional federal funding for Pennsylvania through Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) tax credits for solar, wind, and storage projects.

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