The Pennsylvania’s Environmental Quality Board (EQB) recently published a proposed rulemaking that would establish a cap-and-trade program in the keystone state for carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel-fired electric generating units.
This proposed rulemaking would also enable Pennsylvania’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative – or RGGI – a cap-and-trade program for carbon dioxide emissions that includes 10 other states in the northeastern United States.
The EQB anticipates that Pennsylvania’s participation in the RGGI would lead to a 31 percent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from sources in the commonwealth by 2030, relative to 2019 emission levels.
The EQB also anticipates that the proposed rules would lead to significantly reduced emissions of other air pollutants, including nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, particulate matter, and ground level ozone. You can learn more about those pollutants and how they impact human health and the environment on GASP’s Resources Page.
A copy of the proposed rulemaking is available here. You can learn more about RGGI here.
The EQB is accepting comments from the public on the proposed rules through Jan. 14, 2021.
“We are reviewing the proposed rules and will provide updates on any developments regarding them as they occur,” GASP senior staff attorney John Baillie said.