Petition To Cap Greenhouse Gases In Pennsylvania Takes Next Step

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HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A 20-member state environmental rulemaking board is approving the next step for a petition seeking to fight climate change by imposing a cap-and-trade program to make Pennsylvania carbon neutral by 2052.

The board's vote Tuesday had support from Gov. Tom Wolf. The Democrat, however, isn't taking a position on the petition itself.

The vote allows Wolf's Department of Environmental Protection to study the proposal and decide whether to recommend it for a rulemaking process, which requires more approvals.

The Clean Air Council, which submitted the petition, calls it a landmark step. The petition seeks to require polluters to buy permits for each ton of carbon they release.

Democratic Sen. John Yudichak voted for it, but says the Legislature should be the body making environmental policy of such breadth.

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