News - Carbon Pricing

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf's decision to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is significant because it marks the largest expansion since the inception of the decade-old carbon market, which would now include all of the Mid-Atlantic states and the Northeast, reports NJ Spotlight. “As one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases in the country, Pennsylvania’s action will have a real impact on the fight against climate change," said Tim Profeta.

Pennsylvania's participation would expand the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative at a time when the Trump administration has reversed actions to curb emissions, reports StateImpact Pennsylvania. “This is a game changer, for a top energy producer like Pennsylvania to take this big step toward a cleaner future,” said Kate Konschnik.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf ordered regulators to come up with a plan by July 31 to regulate emissions from power plants and establish rules that would allow the state to participate in a multi-state carbon market called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Kate Konschnik told Bloomberg News that the move represents "a very big actor coming to the table."

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf today initiated a process for his state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cap-and-trade program to reduce emissions from the power sector in New England and Mid-Atlantic states. Pennsylvania ranks third nationally in electricity production and fourth in carbon dioxide emissions, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Jackson Ewing, a senior fellow at Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, spoke to "The Beijing Hour" on China Radio International about the major issues to be addressed at the United Nations Climate Action Summit.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres is calling on world leaders to bring concrete plans to the 2019 Climate Action Summit in New York Sept. 23 that substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are causing climate change.

Tensions over melding the existing power market system in New York with Gov. Cuomo's ambitious renewable energy goals are poised to break into the open. Senior counsel Jennifer Chen told POLITICO that carbon pricing can help ensure that energy markets reflect the real costs of generating power, but it cannot replace targeted state policies for local or flexible resources like solar or energy storage.

America's nearly 1.3 million square miles of forests absorb about 15 percent of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions annually, storing carbon in growing trees, ecosystems, and wood products. By maintaining and expanding this forest carbon "sink," America can reduce greenhouse gas emissions more effectively and for less money, write Robert Bonnie, a Duke University Rubenstein fellow and former undersecretary of Natural Resources and Environment at USDA, and Jad Daley, president and CEO of American Forests, in an op-ed for The Hill.

This year’s U.N. climate talks could make or break the Paris Agreement, negotiators say, as they get down to the business of regulating carbon trading. Emerging economies, notably Brazil, are at loggerheads with the European Union and vulnerable countries over the role for old U.N. carbon market schemes in the Paris regime, according to a Climate Home News article

Stakeholders in PJM may decide on Thursday to initiate a process to study and potentially price CO2 emissions in its energy market. Such a process would provide a forum for much needed detailed discussion and analysis on what could be a critical link between CO2 emissions policies and efficient markets, writes Jennifer Chen, senior counsel at Duke's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, in Greentech Media.