Pennsylvania State Capitol, Harrisburg. Photo: Waldteufel – Fotolia

Gov. Tom Wolf on Oct. 3 issued an executive order committing Pennsylvania to reduce carbon emissions in the electric industry and directing that the state join a regional consortium committed to mitigating climate change.

Executive Order 2019-07 directed the Department of Environmental Protection to develop a proposal for new rules to "abate, control, or limit carbon dioxide emissions from fossil-fuel-fired electric power generators."

The rules, which would be authorized under the Air Pollution Control Act of 1960, would aim, among other things, to create a carbon dioxide budget, a cumulative amount of carbon dioxide emissions permitted to help keep within a window that would limit overall global warming. That budget would bring Pennsylvania into line with nine states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which includes New York, Delaware and Maryland.

Wolf also directed the DEP to join the RGGI coalition. States in the RGGI, according to an administration statement, have agreed, either through regulation or legislation, to implement their carbon emissions reduction goals through a regional cap-and-trade program involving carbon-dioxide emitting electric power plants.

The executive order also calls for state agencies to engage with PJM Interconnection, which is based in Valley Forge, and manages the electric generation grid for 13 states and the District of Columbia, to maintain economic efficiency and minimize emissions leakage.

Wolf pointed to his legal mandate to protect air resources for the protection of public health and safety as justification for the order, which became effective immediately.

"Given the urgency of the climate crisis facing Pennsylvania and the entire planet, the commonwealth must continue to take concrete, economically sound and immediate steps to reduce emissions," Wolf said.

Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, and Majority Leader Jake Corman, R-Centre, said the General Assembly would have its own say on Pennsylvania energy policy.

"We expect that the legislature will have the opportunity to engage in this process, to make sure that any change in energy policy ensures a balance between safeguarding the environment, preserving energy jobs and protecting ratepayers," the leaders said in a joint statement.

Republican leaders in the state House of Representatives were more critical of Wolf's executive order, calling it a "go-it-alone" approach.

"We believe the executive branch cannot bind the state into multi-state agreements without the approval of the General Assembly, and we plan to execute the fullest extent of our legislative power on behalf of the people of Pennsylvania," said a statement posted on the House GOP website, attributed to the leaders without listing any individual member.