Attorney General and 2022 Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Josh Shapiro at a press conference outside Harrisburg on March 24, 2022 (Capital-Star photo).
Five environmental advocacy groups have endorsed state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the sole Democratic candidate in the race for governor, in his bid to serve as Pennsylvania’s next chief executive.
The five groups – Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, Clean Air Action Fund, Clean Water Action, National Wildlife Federation Action Fund and PennEnvironment endorsed Shapiro in Philadelphia on Thursday morning, calling Shapiro’s environmental positions a “stark contrast” to those of the Republican candidates for governor.
“We are excited to announce this historic endorsement of Josh Shapiro, a candidate with a long and proven track record of environmental protection and an exciting platform that will power Pennsylvania into the 21st century with a sustainable green energy economy,” Katie Blume, political director for Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania said in a statement. “He stands head and shoulders above the Republican candidates, who threaten to roll back environmental protections and double down on the failed environmental policies of the past.”
The groups cited Shapiro’s record as attorney general of holding pipeline developers and the oil and gas industry accountable for pollution and public health violations as evidence that he would continue to make the “environment a priority.”
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While Shapiro has maintained that protecting jobs and the environment are not mutually exclusive, the groups did not address candidate Shapiro’s opposition to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multi-state plan to limit carbon emissions through cap-and-trade efforts, in their joint statement announcing the endorsement.
Gov. candidate Shapiro is skeptical of RGGI. It’s unclear if AG Shapiro will do something about it.
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