Hi —

This week, 11 states across the Northeast that are part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) received millions of dollars from a quarterly auction where companies purchase “credits” for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit. States then invest that revenue back into communities, including in local businesses, job training, weatherization of homes, and clean energy programs.

But you know what state missed out? Pennsylvania.

That’s because lawmakers who are beholden to the greedy fossil fuel industry have done everything in their power to keep PA out of RGGI – and prevented us from realizing more than $200 million dollars in this latest auction alone.

Here’s what’s even more infuriating – the same lawmakers who are standing in the way of funds going to our communities are doubling down and pushing for more drilling, which means bigger profits for big polluters.

Fortunately, Pennsylvania is going to join RGGI eventually. The minute that happens, we need to be ready with a mobilization campaign with our allies to ensure proceeds from these auctions are going to environmental justice communities who are often the most harmed by pollution. We also can’t stop for one minute fighting the onslaught of new pro-drilling proposals that are going to lead to more air pollution and make the climate crisis even worse. And we need to keep up the fight to ensure these lawmakers don’t pull more legislative maneuvering to pad the pockets of polluters over people.

This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. Will you pitch in with a donation today to help us fight big polluters and their allies?

RGGI is already having tremendous impacts in the states that participate.

It has cut carbon pollution from power plants in half.
It’s created 45,000 jobs.
And it has reduced energy costs. In RGGI’s first nine years, electricity prices in the region fell by 5.7 percent, even as prices rose by an average of 8.6 percent in other states that do not participate in RGGI.¹

Pennsylvania’s pro-polluting politicians have denied our communities of all those benefits – cleaner air, good-paying jobs, and lower energy costs. But, that’s only half the story.

These same politicians are still refusing to spend all of the federal stimulus money that could be used to modernize our water infrastructure. We could be replacing lead pipes and making our communities better prepared for flooding. But instead of improving our water, our lawmakers want to set up drillers for even bigger profits.

We know how to stop these bills from becoming law, but it takes a tremendous amount of resources to keep fighting anti-environmental bills.

We’re prepared to double down on these efforts, but we can’t do it without you in our corner. Will support our campaign to make RGGI a reality by chipping in with a donation today?