Perhaps the most controversial aspect of Shapiro’s plan is a proposal to create a cap-and-trade program for carbon emissions from power plants, called the Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction Act. It would be a state-level version of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, which previous Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf attempted to join, before a court halted the program. Shapiro appealed that ruling, then announced his idea for the state-level replacement last spring. The governor’s state-level program would return 70% of its revenue to Pennsylvania households through rebates on their electric bills, according to Shapiro’s office. A study found that the Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction Act combined with Shapiro’s plan to update the energy source requirements for electric utilities would lower households’ electric bills and reduce planet-warming emissions.
Shapiro, a Democrat, will need to get…
