Latest news with #PACER
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
State Supreme Court will hear arguments over Pa.'s membership in Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
(Getty Images) Pennsylvania's long-delayed membership in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that would require fossil fuel burning power plants to pay for carbon dioxide emissions will be the subject of arguments Tuesday before the state Supreme Court. The program, known as RGGI, established a carbon credit auction for electricity producers in 11 northeast states to pay for the right to emit carbon dioxide. The money received would go to each state for uses, ranging from utility assistance and energy efficiency projects to subsidies for alternative energy. Gov. Tom Wolf entered the compact in 2022 over the objections of Republican state lawmakers. They raised concerns it would increase electricity prices, hasten the closing of the commonwealth's remaining coal power plants, and not reduce carbon emissions overall, but simply force them into other states. In a legal challenge to the program's constitutionality, GOP leaders in the House and Senate contended the requirement to buy carbon credits was an impermissible tax. A Commonwealth Court panel of five judges agreed. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE In its decision, the appellate court said that Pennsylvania's participation in RGGI must be approved through the General Assembly and that the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) does not have the authority to impose a tax. Gov. Josh Shapiro's administration appealed, with the DEP, arguing that the commonwealth's membership in RGGI is authorized by the state's Air Pollution Control Act (APCA). The law empowers the state to enact rules and regulations to reduce pollution, including establishing fees used to eliminate air emissions. Several nonprofit citizens rights and environmental groups including Penn Future, the Sierra Club, the Clean Air Council and the Environmental Defense Fund moved to intervene in the appeal. They argue the Commonwealth Court wrongly decided the case because it failed to consider the DEP and Environmental Quality Board's obligations under the Environmental Rights Amendment (ERA) to the state constitution. The groups also back the DEP's argument that the agency is empowered to establish fees to enforce the APCA. Adopted in 1971, the ERA requires the commonwealth to preserve public natural resources for the benefit of all people. It's considered one of the strongest such constitutional protections in the nation, according to PennFuture. Since the Commonwealth Court's decision in 2023, Shapiro has introduced a Pennsylvania-focused alternative to RGGI called the Pennsylvania Climate Emissions Reduction Act (PACER) that he said would leverage the commonwealth's status as an energy exporter to fund carbon-neutral energy development. Sen. Carolyn Comitta (D-Chester) who plans to introduce legislation to establish PACER, said Shapiro's alternative was developed in collaboration with Republican lawmakers and energy companies. Comitta said the Supreme Court case and RGGI would make the Supreme Court case moot, but GOP lawmakers have said the plan falls short of their goals to reduce energy costs and ensure reliable electricity supplies. The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in Harrisburg. An audio stream of the proceedings is available on YouTube. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Scoop
02-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
PACER Plus Joint Committee To Convene In Honiara For Critical Talks On Regional Economic Cooperation
Press Release – PACER Plus PACER Plus is more than a trade agreement its a commitment to sustainable development and shared prosperity across the Pacific, said Mr. Lagolago, Head of the PPIU. HONIARA, Solomon Islands – Senior officials from across the Pacific will gather in Honiara next week for the eighth meeting of the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus Joint Committee, set to take place on 5-6 May 2025. The meeting will be chaired by Mr. Collin Beck, Permanent Secretary of the Solomon Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, and will bring together representatives from Australia, Cook Islands, Kiribati, New Zealand, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The two-day meeting will focus on reviewing progress under the PACER Plus agreement, including updates on the implementation of the 2024-2025 annual work plan. The Samoa-based PACER Plus Implementation Unit (PPIU), led by Mr. Roy Lagolago, will provide a detailed report on ongoing activities supporting the treaty's objectives, particularly under the Development and Economic Cooperation (DEC) Work Programme and the Arrangement on Labour Mobility. Australia and New Zealand have been key partners in supporting PACER Plus, jointly committing AU$25 million in October 2021 to fund the DEC Work Programme, which is managed by the PPIU. This funding, set to conclude in December 2025, has been instrumental in strengthening regional trade integration and addressing the unique development challenges faced by Pacific Island nations. Discussions at the meeting will include the potential extension of the DEC Work Programme to ensure continued progress. 'PACER Plus is more than a trade agreement – it's a commitment to sustainable development and shared prosperity across the Pacific,' said Mr. Lagolago, Head of the PPIU. 'This meeting is an opportunity to assess our achievements, address challenges, and plan for the future, ensuring that the benefits of regional economic integration reach all our communities.' PACER Plus was designed with a strong emphasis on supporting the Pacific Parties' participation in international trade while addressing their distinct vulnerabilities and capacity constraints. The agreement recognises the critical role of regional cooperation in fostering long-term socio-economic development. The outcomes of the Joint Committee meeting will help shape the next phase of PACER Plus implementation, reinforcing its role as a cornerstone of Pacific economic resilience and integration.
Scoop
02-05-2025
- Business
- Scoop
PACER Plus Joint Committee To Convene In Honiara For Critical Talks On Regional Economic Cooperation
HONIARA, Solomon Islands – Senior officials from across the Pacific will gather in Honiara next week for the eighth meeting of the Pacific Agreement on Closer Economic Relations (PACER) Plus Joint Committee, set to take place on 5-6 May 2025. The meeting will be chaired by Mr. Collin Beck, Permanent Secretary of the Solomon Islands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, and will bring together representatives from Australia, Cook Islands, Kiribati, New Zealand, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. The two-day meeting will focus on reviewing progress under the PACER Plus agreement, including updates on the implementation of the 2024-2025 annual work plan. The Samoa-based PACER Plus Implementation Unit (PPIU), led by Mr. Roy Lagolago, will provide a detailed report on ongoing activities supporting the treaty's objectives, particularly under the Development and Economic Cooperation (DEC) Work Programme and the Arrangement on Labour Mobility. Australia and New Zealand have been key partners in supporting PACER Plus, jointly committing AU$25 million in October 2021 to fund the DEC Work Programme, which is managed by the PPIU. This funding, set to conclude in December 2025, has been instrumental in strengthening regional trade integration and addressing the unique development challenges faced by Pacific Island nations. Discussions at the meeting will include the potential extension of the DEC Work Programme to ensure continued progress. 'PACER Plus is more than a trade agreement – it's a commitment to sustainable development and shared prosperity across the Pacific,' said Mr. Lagolago, Head of the PPIU. 'This meeting is an opportunity to assess our achievements, address challenges, and plan for the future, ensuring that the benefits of regional economic integration reach all our communities.' PACER Plus was designed with a strong emphasis on supporting the Pacific Parties' participation in international trade while addressing their distinct vulnerabilities and capacity constraints. The agreement recognises the critical role of regional cooperation in fostering long-term socio-economic development. The outcomes of the Joint Committee meeting will help shape the next phase of PACER Plus implementation, reinforcing its role as a cornerstone of Pacific economic resilience and integration.
Yahoo
05-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Elon Musk's DOGE slapped a $1 limit on government credit cards and now workers say they can't do their jobs
Some federal workers say they can't do their jobs after a freeze on most federal credit cards. The cards handle $30 billion a year in transactions for basic supplies and services—from legal fees to gas—that federal workers use in the course of business. They aren't allowed to use their own credit cards for work-related expenses, a source told Fortune. The Elon Musk-led push for government cost-cutting has come for federal workers' credit cards, hampering workers' ability to buy basic supplies, according to several media reports. The so-called Department of Government Efficiency last month boasted about eliminating thousands of credit cards and reducing the spending limits on others to $1. Now, many employees are saying they can't make routine purchases to fulfil their functions, multiple outlets reported. 'Divisions are resorting to bartering with each other to obtain needed items,' one employee at the Environmental Protection Agency told Wired. The unnamed worker described being unable to buy liquid nitrogen, which is used to store environmental samples in EPA freezers. The EPA and DOGE did not respond to a request for comment from Fortune. Credit cards are used for many routine purchases in the course of federal workers' jobs, including gas for cars used on the job, lab supplies, software subscriptions or work-related travel. 'I think it is going to be chaotic,' said Jessica Childress, founder of The Childress Firm and a former lawyer for the Department of Justice. 'It's going to put a complete halt on essential functions that the government has to complete if there is no card that a government employee can use to pay for travel that's part of their jobs.' Childress noted that federal workers aren't allowed to put work-related expenses on personal cards. 'These cards are the ways that many government workers are performing the duties they've taken an oath to perform,' she added. 'It facilitates the ability of these employees to do their jobs.' Social Security employees have been unable to create UPS shipping labels after their cards were limited, the Wall Street Journal reported this week. Meanwhile, lawyers at the Treasury Department have been cut off from PACER, the electronic filing system widely used to monitor federal court cases. (That access was later restored, the Journal reported.) Another federal employee told the Journal they weren't able to pay cell phone plans, Microsoft 365 software licenses, or a $619 monthly bill for Amazon Web Services. One employee at the Food and Drug Administration recently tried to put in an order for pipette tips, a basic lab item, Wired reported. However, that order was put on hold. "Now we are running out, asking colleagues at other offices to share what they might not be using,' the employee told Wired. Trump's executive order on Feb. 26 decreed that 'all credit cards held by agency employees shall be treated as frozen for 30 days,' except for those used for disaster relief. (The order exempted law enforcement, the military, Customs and Border Protection or Immigration and Customs Enforcement.) DOGE posted last week that some 24,000 credit cards had been deactivated. The General Services Administration confirmed the changes in a February blog post on the charge-card program, known as SmartPay. 'GSA set a $1 limit on all cardholder accounts. This action is a commonly used risk mitigation best practice,' the post read. 'GSA has implemented a review and approval process to ensure that purchases that directly support mission-critical activities can still be made in a timely manner.' Before the changes, GSA had boasted about the SmartPay program, which it called the world's largest charge card program. 'If you've ever traveled for work, fueled a government vehicle, or purchased something for less than $10,000 for your office or agency, chances are you used the GSA SmartPay® program,' it said in a blog post. Some $30 billion in government transactions are run through the program every year. In its 25-year lifespan, the program has returned $5.6 billion in 'cash back' to agencies, GSA said. This story was originally featured on
