What to know about Gov. Shapiro's appeal of ruling in contentious RGGI cap-and-trade issue

Pennsylvania's governor is going to court to fight for the ambitious environmental and green energy policy adopted by his predecessor.

Gov. Josh Shapiro on Tuesday announced his administration's challenge to the recent Commonwealth Court ruling that invalidated the state's participation in the multi-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Former Gov. Tom Wolf unilaterally entered the RGGI arrangement in 2019 without the consent of the Legislature's conservative majority.

“The Commonwealth Court’s decision on RGGI — put in place by the prior administration — was limited to questions of executive authority, and our administration must appeal in order to protect that important authority for this administration and all future governors," Shapiro spokesperson Manuel Bonder said in a prepared statement.

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“We urge Republican and Democratic leadership to join us at the productive table the governor has set with labor, environmental advocates, energy producers and consumer advocates to further a commonsense energy policy that moves our commonwealth forward. Now is the time for action, inaction is not an acceptable alternative.”

Bonder added that Shapiro is also open to discussing a "stronger alternative to RGGI" with members of the Legislature.

What is RGGI?

RGGI is cap-and-trade carbon mandate framed by proponents as critical to combatting climate change. It used by many neighboring states: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia

The state DEP has estimated that participation in RGGI would decrease commonwealth CO2 emissions by between 97 million tons and 225 million tons by 2030.

Though Pennsylvania joined via Wolf's executive order a few years ago, the state's participation has been held in limbo because of court challenges from labor unions and Republican leadership in Harrisburg. Earlier in November, Commonwealth Court ruled that participation in RGGI constituted a tax and that this power is reserved for the Legislature, not the governor.

Who is pro-RGGI?

Shapiro's decision to appeal takes him off a fence he's been sitting since the campaign trail.

As a gubernatorial candidate, Shapiro avoided taking a firm stance on either side of the debate. His GOP opponent, state Sen. Doug Mastriano, was opposed to Pennsylvania's participation in RGGI.

In challenging the Commonwealth Court ruling, Shapiro earned praise from a list of environmental organizations including the Sierra Club, Clean Power PA and Evergreen Action.

“(This) announcement from Governor Shapiro marks a crucial step toward ending this frivolous litigation once and for all," Julia Kortrey, Evergreen Action's deputy state policy director, said in a news release. "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.

"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."

Who is anti-RGGI?

Power PA Jobs Alliance — a coaltion of more than two dozen businesses, labor unions and chambers of commerce — ripped Shapiro for his choice.

"The Commonwealth Court’s focused RGGI decision presented Governor Shapiro with a tremendous opportunity to advance his own pro-worker, pro-family energy policy with a clean slate," Power PA Jobs Alliance wrote in a prepared statement. "Instead, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, and in conflict with many of his pre- and post-election public statements and assurances, the governor has effectively adopted as his own anti-worker, anti-family energy policy, mimicking that of his predecessor."

PA Coal Alliance Executive Director Rachel Gleason called RGGI an "illegal policy that does not reduce overall CO2 emissions and places the reliability our electric grid at risk, all at the expense of jobs with family-sustaining wages."

Shapiro's decision also drew fire from one of the most prominent members of the Legislature. Senate President Pro Tempore Kim Ward (R-Westmoreland) said the governor's handling of the situation demonstrates a lack of leadership.

“Gov. Shapiro’s move to appeal RGGI to the Supreme Court is a maneuver to avoid having to make a tough decision," Ward said in a news release. "The truth is, Gov. Shapiro would rather unnecessarily tax Pennsylvanians and make them feel virtuous about raising their electricity rates and eliminate good-paying jobs than face the traditional factions in his own Democratic party."

"(This) electricity tax has no place in a commonsense energy policy for our commonwealth.”

Bruce Siwy is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network's Pennsylvania state capital bureau. He can be reached at bsiwy@gannett.com or on X at @BruceSiwy.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: PA Governor Josh Shapiro's position emerges on RGGI