Wolfs supports studying petition to cap greenhouse gases

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Tom Wolf supports allowing his administration to formally study a petition that calls for Pennsylvania to impose a cap-and-trade program to make Pennsylvania carbon neutral by 2052.

Friday's statement by Wolf's office, however, says the Democrat isn't taking a position on the petition itself.

The roughly 400-page petition is scheduled for a preliminary vote April 16 before a 20-member environmental rulemaking board that includes several Wolf appointees.

A positive vote would allow Wolf's Department of Environmental Protection to study it and decide whether to recommend it for a rulemaking process, which requires another vote.

A coalition of business associations is urging board members to take no action until they've studied its implications for Pennsylvania's economy.

The petition seeks to require polluters to buy permits for each ton of carbon they release.