Robert Sroufe: Pa. can reap financial, health benefits from RGGI

In Pennsylvania, we see more extreme weather, more deaths from heat and respiratory ailments like asthma, and a disruption to agriculture, all attributable to climate change.

Greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil contribute substantially to climate change in Pennsylvania and across the globe. Temperatures in Pennsylvania are projected to increase by 5.4 degrees by 2050, and this changing climate will continue to harm public health and strain our infrastructure, health care system and emergency services.

Thankfully, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is reviewing a vital tool for Pennsylvania to tackle the health and economic problems that climate change presents through the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). As the public comment period for RGGI closed Jan. 14, I wanted to express my strong support for this program that has been proven to cut climate-warming carbon dioxide pollution by 47% in participating states.

Through my extensive research and years of business experience, it has become clear to me that RGGI represents an “opportunity” for Pennsylvania to embrace both economic gain and public health protections — a powerful combination.

RGGI is a “cap and invest” program that puts a science-based cap, or limit, on the amount of carbon pollution that participating power plants can emit. These power plants must pay for each ton of carbon pollution by purchasing allowances within the RGGI program. Because the carbon cap declines each year, power plants have an economic incentive to invest in cleaner energy sources while improving efficiency. The revenue generated by the RGGI program can be invested in projects that help clean up the air and initiatives to support communities impacted by polluting industries while creating family-sustaining local jobs.

RGGI is a pollution control program that sets science-based carbon limits and requires participating electric power plants to buy “allowances” equal to their carbon emissions. Because the carbon limit declines over time, dirtier plants, which produce more carbon emissions, will have an incentive to invest in cleaner energy sources while improving efficiency and reducing harmful air pollution. The revenue generated by the RGGI program can be invested in projects that help clean up the air and initiatives to support front-line communities who have historically been disproportionately impacted by polluting sources and climate change.

RGGI has been a big success in the 11 northeast and mid-Atlantic states where it’s already in place, cutting climate pollution by a third and raising nearly $3 billion to be invested in clean energy, infrastructure, energy efficiency, and other programs that will help clean our air.

Companies and governments worldwide are already measuring and managing greenhouse gas emissions successfully because they have realized one fundamental truth: It’s good for business. Our business program at Duquesne provides live consulting projects involving sustainable business practices measuring carbon dioxide emissions and aligning practices with goals for sustainable development. Entire countries are approaching us to help them with measuring and managing these emissions.

In Pennsylvania, an estimated 61% of all households would experience a net financial benefit from putting a price on carbon dioxide emissions, with the most significant financial impact on low-income and family households, particularly in rural areas. Pennsylvania would benefit from generating an estimated 77,000 jobs by 2025 and almost 100,000 jobs by 2035. RGGI would create clean energy jobs through incentivizing investment in energy innovation — jobs with an average hourly wage 8% to 19% higher than the national mean hourly wage instead of business-as-usual polluting industries.

I live east of Pittsburgh, and from my home, my family and I can see the smokestack of the Cheswick Power Station, one of the last coal-fired power plants in Pennsylvania. At one time, this station was the sixth-worst polluting utility station in the U.S. We have air quality monitors in our home and within our business school in downtown Pittsburgh. We have found that the air inside our homes and buildings is two to four times better than the air outside.

RGGI will improve all Pennsylvanians’ health and the health of Pittsburghers like me, living in a city that continually ranks among the top 25 for worst for air quality in the nation.

The DEP must move swiftly in 2021 to finalize plans to participate in RGGI. The future of the commonwealth needs to include programs like RGGI, which will bring innovation, better air quality, better jobs, better health, as we can not continue with business as usual.

Robert Sroufe is Murrin Chair of Global Competitiveness at Duquesne University’s MBA Sustainable Business Practices Program.