Senate Republicans are playing hardball with Gov. Tom Wolf over the governor’s support of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

The Senate Republican Caucus sent a letter to Wolf last week saying Republicans will block all nominations to the state Public Utility Commission until Wolf pulls his unilateral decision to have Pennsylvania join RGGI and work with the Legislature, according to Senator Joe Pittman, who has spearheaded efforts of Legislative involvement in RGGI. All 27 members of the Senate Republican Caucus signed the letter.

“We have made it clear over the past 19 months that this is about the balance of powers in Pennsylvania,” Pittman said. “One of the key components of RGGI is a tax on carbon emissions. That in and of itself would destroy thousands of family-sustaining jobs across the Commonwealth.

Beyond that, the power to tax is a function of the legislative branch, not the executive branch. It is dangerous precedent to tolerate the Governor unilaterally imposing a tax. This moratorium on confirmation of PUC nominees is a reminder to the Governor that Pennsylvania has three distinct and co-equal branches of government.”

The fight over RGGI has been ongoing for about 18 months since, in October 2019, Wolf directed the Department of Environmental Resources to join RGGI — a collaboration of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia that sets a cap on total carbon dioxide emissions from electric power generators in their states. In order to comply, power plants must purchase a credit or “allowance” for each ton of CO2 they emit. The cost of the credits is typically passed on to consumers through a fuel adjustment charge.

Three Department of Environment Protection advisory boards have advised against the state joining RGGI, most recently in February when the Independent Regulatory Review Commission called for a one-year moratorium on implementation of RGGI and questioned Wolf’s unilateral decision to join the compact without legislative approval.

In September, the state Legislature approved House Bill 2025 to create the Pennsylvania Carbon Dioxide Cap and Trade Authorization Act, which stated the administration does not have the authority to unilaterally join RGGI and prohibited the Department of Environmental Protection from joining RGGI without legislative approval. Wolf vetoed that legislation.

On Tuesday, Wolf issued a statement praising President Joe Biden’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas pollution, a commitment Wolf said is in line with the governor’s priorities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26% by 2025 and by 80% by 2050 through his administration’s Climate Action Plan and participation in RGGI.

“As communities across the globe gather this Earth Day to participate in cleanup activities and raise awareness about the critical importance of protecting our planet, I’m grateful that the Biden Administration has made climate protection a top priority and that President Biden has pledged to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions,” Wolf said. “”I share the president’s grave concern for the health of our planet and protecting our precious natural resources, and that’s why my administration has also prioritized efforts to combat climate change.”