Exelon applauds Pennsylvania Gov. Wolf’s decision to join Climate Alliance

Exelon Corporation issued a statement Tuesday applauding Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s decision to join the U.S. Climate Alliance and the release of Pennsylvania’s Climate Action Plan.

“As the nation’s largest producer of emissions-free energy, Exelon commends Governor Wolf’s decision to join the U.S. Climate Alliance and set ambitious carbon reduction goals for the Commonwealth,” Exelon said in the statement. “We agree that any plan to address climate change must include the preservation of Pennsylvania’s five nuclear plants, which keep electricity costs stable for consumers and provide 93 percent of the state’s zero-carbon electricity. In fact, Three Mile Island Unit 1 alone produces more zero-carbon energy than all renewables in Pennsylvania.”

Gov. Wolf announced the decision and the release of the climate action plan on Monday.

The U.S. Climate Alliance is a coalition of governors committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions that facilitates cooperation between states to accelerate the deployment of climate solutions to help reach climate goals.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), along with state agency partners and recommendations from various stakeholders, developed the Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan 2018. The plan describes more than 100 actions, including 15 that DEP and partners analyzed quantitatively for potential greenhouse gas emissions reduction. The analysis revealed that those 15 actions, which include deploying more renewable energy and increasing electric vehicle usage, could reduce emissions by 21 percent by 2025.

“We’ve seen lately even more evidence that there is a need for leadership on climate change,” Wolf said. “For that reason, Pennsylvania will join the U.S. Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of 24 governors, representing over half of the U.S. population to work to implement policies that uphold the commitments our nation made in the Paris Agreement.”

The release of the Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan 2018 marks 10 years since Pennsylvania state law first required the DEP to create a climate plan and periodically update it. The Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan 2018 is the third update to the first plan, which was published in 2009.

Wolf signed an executive order in January 2019 to set statewide climate goals that aimed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent by 2025 and by 80 percent by 2050, as compared to 2005 levels.