By Megan Martin

The future of Pennsylvania energy looks bright—especially after lawmakers ended the threat of what could have been a devastating carbon tax.

After months of political gridlock, Gov. Josh Shapiro and the General Assembly finally reached an agreement on the 2025–26 budget. Tucked inside that compromise is the most consequential energy decision Pennsylvania has made in years: our commonwealth’s legislative exit from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI).

For anyone who has watched Pennsylvania’s RGGI saga unfold, this moment was a long time coming. RGGI—a multistate cap-and-trade program—sets a limit on carbon emissions and forces energy producers to buy allowances through an auction. It’s a system that raises revenue to fund government-favored special interests w

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