By Christen Smith

The Pennsylvania State Senate’s top Democrat wants other lawmakers to sign onto his plan to cap energy sector emissions in a state known for its abundance of fossil fuels — an uphill battle he says matches the ambitions of Gov. Tom Wolf and other zero-carbon crusaders in the Mid-Atlantic.

Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa said Friday his “cap and invest” program instructs the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) to adopt a mechanism that will prioritize the deployment of zero-emission technologies in an effort to reduce carbon pollution from the state’s electric power sector by at least 90% over the next 20 years.

“The federal government has abdicated responsibility on climate change — states, local governments, private companies and citizens must take the lead in enacting equitable policies to mitigate the growing impacts of climate change,” he said in a press release Friday.

The board would also have the authority to develop a market-based carbon pollution limit that generates revenue for investments in renewable resources that promote energy efficiency and affordability. Rather than imposing a strict charge like a carbon tax, the plan uses an auction system, although both strategies “create a cost for carbon,” said Costa spokesperson Brittany Crampsie.

“Pennsylvania has already made important strides towards reducing greenhouse gases, and mayors from Pennsylvania’s two largest cities have already committed to reducing carbon emissions,” Costa said. “But more work is needed to achieve the emission reductions and to make sure Pennsylvania isn’t left behind in the burgeoning growth of clean energy technologies and jobs.”

The legislation comes just two months after the EQB sent a controversial petition from the Clean Air Council to the Department of Environmental Protection for review and possible rulemaking. The petition calls for a cap-and-trade program that requires power producers to cut emissions to below an established “cap” that will be reduced by 3% each year until reaching zero. Those unable to stay below the limit must buy credits from producers with room to spare.

The Pennsylvania Manufacturers’ Association called the proposal a “regulatory scheme” that unfairly side-steps the legislative process, where such a debate belongs. It’s unclear how similar Costa’s bill is to the petition, if at all, though PMA President David Taylor said Monday it’s likely “more of the same.”

Mark Szybist, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, pointed out that while the bill’s language has not been released, its co-sponsor memo indicates it will not levy a carbon tax, instead directing the EQB to adopt “cost-effective regulatory mechanisms.”

“The board could do that by creating a market-based cap-and-invest program that puts a price on carbon dioxide and could also develop other approaches as a complement or alternative to a cap-and-invest program,” Szybist said.

Uphill Battle

Since 2007, the natural gas industry has spent nearly $70 million on state lobbying efforts, including $11.2 million in campaign donations, according to data compiled in the Marcellus Money report. Likewise, natural gas drilling in the commonwealth exploded over the last decade, pushing its output second only to Texas and providing for 20% of the national demand — a figure expected to double by 2040.

The boom has lowered residential electricity bills by an average of $102/month, the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association said. Federal data also show a 14% decline in carbon emissions from the proliferation of gas across the country and 30% in Pennsylvania alone.

Still, Costa’s plan would further entrench Pennsylvania in the growing pool of Mid-Atlantic states pursuing ambitious clean energy goals in response to the nation’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, a worldwide initiative to limit the increase in global temperature to below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

In April, Pennsylvania joined the U.S. Climate Alliance, and Wolf released an update to the state’s own action plan to achieve a 26% reduction in statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 2025. (See Pennsylvania Joins the US Climate Alliance.) He’s also called for a severance tax on the natural gas industry to fund infrastructure improvements and joined with the governors of New Jersey, New York and Delaware in supporting a moratorium on natural gas drilling in the Delaware River Basin — making him a controversial figure within the sector and among the state Republicans the industry supports.

“Pennsylvania has already benefited immensely from the boom in natural gas extraction, and House Republicans are dedicated to building on those gains rather than endangering them,” House Speaker Mike Turzai (R) said in a press release Friday that criticized the governor’s severance tax proposal and other economic policies. Turzai received $128,000 from natural gas industry donors in the last campaign cycle — 40% more than Wolf and the most of any state candidate running for office.

“It is an age old and long-established maxim that, if you tax something, you will get less of it,” Turzai said. “And yet, perhaps that is precisely what our Democratic governor and his allies in the House Democratic Caucus intend with his proposed severance tax: to make natural gas more expensive to produce, to deter fracking and to chase it out of Pennsylvania, as New York has done.”

It’s the fifth time Wolf has proposed replacing the state’s impact fee — which gas companies pay for each well they drill — with a severance tax that would be based on the amount of gas each well produces. Democrats argue the impact fee leaves money on the table, while Republicans insist it returns investment right back to the communities where the drilling has the most impact, allowing for localized infrastructure and environmental improvements.

Although Costa’s plan doesn’t overtly tax natural gas generators, the intention is obvious, critics said.

Taylor, who had not yet seen the co-sponsorship memoranda, argued that further regulating industry in the U.S. does nothing to reduce worldwide pollution levels. He said countries like China, India and Brazil produce far more emissions than U.S.-based companies, where regulations make air quality in cities across the country cleaner than in Paris.

“This is profoundly wrongheaded that we are going to further turn the screws in the place where this is done the cleanest with the least impact on the environment,” he said. “This is a global issue, and so you have to take a global perspective.”

So far, five Democratic senators have co-signed Costa’s bill, and Crampsie said the feedback has been largely positive.

“Capping carbon emissions from Pennsylvania’s power sector is absolutely critical in order to reduce a major source of pollution driving climate change,” said Tom Schuster, senior campaign representative for the Pennsylvania Sierra Club. “This legislation is a concrete step toward achieving the goals Gov. Wolf has set forth in committing Pennsylvania to the U.S. Climate Alliance and to building a clean and healthy commonwealth now and for future generations.”

Jacquelyn Bonomo, CEO of environmental group PennFuture, encouraged support of the “comprehensive” climate change plan, calling it a “tremendous opportunity … to improve the health of our families and drive forward a clean and resilient energy economy that benefits all residents no matter where they may live.”