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Senate Passes Climate Change Action Plan Legislation

Senate passage of climate-change legislation offers cause for thanksgiving, Brian Hill, President and CEO of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, said this week.

Senate Bill 266 (Erickson-R-Delaware), requiring DEP to inventory greenhouse gases and create a climate change action plan, passed the Senate by a vote of 47 to 3 (Senators Eichelberger (R-Blair), Folmer (R-Lebanon) and Regola (R-Westmoreland) voted no). It is very similar to House Bill 110 (Vitali-D-Delaware) which passed the House earlier this month.

“As we pause to give thanks this week, let us give thanks both for our bounty and for those who are working keep our Commonwealth bountiful,” Hill said. “Science is telling us that climate change will bring about a decline in milk and fruit production in Pennsylvania, that many farmers will need to change what crops they grow and deal with more invasive weeds, and that trout, smallmouth bass and ducks and other migrating birds may be severely impacted.

“These and other impacts can be reduced if we take decisive action to address climate change,” Hill said.

"This measure brings together representatives of business, environmental groups, farmers and others to develop strategies for studying and responding to climate change. It provides a sound, science-based roadmap for action," said Sen. Erickson.

"Climate change is presenting a myriad of challenges as well as opportunities, and Pennsylvania must be prepared to deal with both," said Sen. Erickson. "Senate Bill 266 provides the best framework to study climate change in Pennsylvania, and incorporate a diverse range of views that will allow the Commonwealth to reduce greenhouse gases through cutting edge, jobs-producing technologies and innovative thinking."

Senate Bill 266 and House Bill 110 would bring about a state-sponsored plan that would be able to draw extensively from the Climate Change Roadmap for Pennsylvania that PEC put out a few months ago, Hill said, noting that PEC’s Roadmap included a comprehensive, sector-by-sector inventory of greenhouse gas emissions along with 38 policy recommendations for reducing those emissions in the Commonwealth.

The Roadmap was the result of a two year, multi-stakeholder effort which included representatives from energy generation, agriculture, capital investment, government, academia, and nongovernmental organizations.

Hill noted that Pennsylvania is already recognized nationally for green buildings, wind power, methane recovery, and a commitment to cleaner vehicles and fuels., adding, “These accomplishments are just one piece of a much larger puzzle in relation to climate change; solving that puzzle will require comprehensive policy changes which address a broad range of activities and virtually every sector of our economy.”

Noting that the same policies and initiatives that address climate change would support energy independence, reduced energy costs, cleaner air and water, and economic development and job creation, he urged the General Assembly to give prompt final approval to this vital legislation.

For more information, contact the Pennsylvania Environmental Council.

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The Senate will return to voting session November 27 and 28. The House does not return to voting session until December 3.

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