Ceres joins major businesses across Pennsylvania to applaud the Wolf administration for finalizing its participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), becoming the 12th state to join the bipartisan East Coast program to address pollution from power plants.
RGGI is a cap-and-invest system for the region’s power sector, and supports efforts to help residents, companies, and communities to invest in clean energy, energy efficiency, and other efforts to reduce pollution. Participating states represent more than one-sixth of the population of the U.S. and have slashed power-sector carbon emissions nearly in half since the program launched in 2009. Pennsylvania ranks fifth among the U.S. in emissions, and will become the second-largest state to participate in RGGI, after New York.
Major employers in Pennsylvania support RGGI as a market-based system to address the economic threats of climate change and air pollution, build new industries to confront them, and preserve the Commonwealth as a leading power generator amid the clean energy transition.
“By joining RGGI, Pennsylvania can continue to lead the way into the future of clean energy.” said Rachel Goldstein, North America Policy Director, Mars, Incorporated, which has manufacturing facilities in Lancaster and Bucks Counties. “We thank the Wolf administration for finalizing Pennsylvania’s participation in RGGI. Through RGGI, companies of all sizes can invest in clean energy, create sustainable jobs, and support communities affected by the clean energy transition.”
“Pennsylvania has taken an important step forward in building a thriving energy future,” said Hugh Welsh, president & general counsel of DSM North America. “The RGGI approach has shown to be the most efficient and economical way to reduce emissions. The Wolf administration’s decision to join RGGI will keep Pennsylvania competitive by delivering lower energy prices, improving air quality, and spurring investments to support communities, businesses, jobs, and innovation.”
“Nestlé powers about 75% of the electricity needs at our five Pennsylvania facilities with renewable energy, and we are working toward 100% renewable energy across all of our operations globally,” said Megan Villarreal, policy and public affairs at Nestlé, which operates five facilities in Lehigh and Cumberland Counties. “We applaud the Wolf administration’s actions to ensure Pennsylvania remains a good place to do business. Through RGGI, Pennsylvania can continue to grow its economy while advancing clean energy and reducing pollution in a way that benefits communities across the commonwealth.”
DSM, Mars, and Nestlé were among more than a dozen companies and higher-education institutions that wrote to Pennsylvania lawmakers in 2020 to urge their support for RGGI.
“RGGI presents one of our most cost-efficient opportunities to accelerate emissions reductions while preserving Pennsylvania’s proud status as an economic powerhouse for many years to come,” they wrote in the letter, which was organized by Ceres, a nonprofit that works with companies and investors on sustainability practices and policy.
“Ceres commends the Wolf administration for its leadership, which will bring enormous economic and climate benefits across the Commonwealth,” said Anne Kelly, Vice President of government relations at Ceres. “Leading companies and investors look forward to working with the administration to implement RGGI in a way that reduces climate pollution in frontline communities and supports the communities that will be affected by the transition from fossil fuels.”
About Ceres
Ceres is a nonprofit organization working with the most influential capital market leaders to solve the world’s greatest sustainability challenges. Through our powerful networks and global collaborations of investors, companies and nonprofits, we drive action and inspire equitable market-based and policy solutions throughout the economy to build a just and sustainable future. For more information, visit ceres.org and follow @CeresNews.