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By Michael Mann

Earlier this month, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a stay on implementation of the Clean Power Plan as it considers arguments by fossil fuel industry advocates seeking to block the new rule.

Michael Mann (Penn State photo)

Despite the coordinated assault by industry groups, Gov. Tom Wolf has joined the ranks of state governors supporting clean energy and climate action, announcing that Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection is moving ahead with their planning and public engagement process to create a plan to reduce the commonwealth's power plant carbon emissions. We owe the governor our thanks and our support.

This latest climate change kerfuffle isn't the first we've seen, nor is it likely to be the last.

In my career as a climate scientist, I've withstood my fair share of attacks for trying to call attention to the very real problem of human-caused climate change.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) highlighted the now-famous "hockey stick" chart, which demonstrates the unprecedented nature of recent warming, in its 2001 report to the United Nations.

I had no idea when I originally published this research that it would place me directly in the cross-hairs of fossil fuel interest groups looking to discredit the case for concern over climate change.

But, as I detail in my book The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars, that's precisely what happened.

Climate scientists like myself continue to be subject to politically-motivated attacks because our findings have proven inconvenient to powerful special interests.

But as much as opponents of clean energy want to deny that human-caused climate change is a reality, we're seeing its effects first-hand.

The year 2015 was the warmest on record for the globe, beating out the previous record set just one year earlier in 2014.

And right here in Pennsylvania, a Penn State update to Pennsylvania's official climate impacts assessment warned that the commonwealth should prepare for dangerously high summer temperatures, more severe storms, an increased threat of certain diseases carried by insects, and drastic changes to our state's agriculture and water quality. Climate change is already hurting us, our economy, and our environment.

Unfortunately, the same industry front groups and advocacy organizations that have been attacking climate researchers also don't want to see our elected leaders take the necessary actions to reduce carbon pollution.

So it's hardly a surprise that they are now attacking the Clean Power Plan, which could make serious progress in lowering our country's global warming emissions.

Moving forward and meeting the goals of the Clean Power Plan is the right move for Pennsylvania, not only because of the risks we face if we allow our carbon emissions to continue unchecked, but also because it's a real opportunity for the commonwealth.

The Union of Concerned Scientists just released a study showing that if Pennsylvania adopts a Clean Power Plan with strong energy efficiency and renewable energy targets, and participates in a carbon-trading program, the state would reap significant economic benefits.

By 2030, such a program could generate an average of $804 million annually from the sale of carbon allowances that could be invested in Pennsylvania's economy, and reduce the typical Pennsylvania household's electricity bills by 3 percent.

It could also lead to $4.3 billion in energy efficiency improvements and spur $10 billion in new investments to build 10,700 megawatts of new wind and solar capacity in the state.

Groups working to block the Clean Power Plan have an economic stake in maintaining the pro-fossil fuel status quo, even though shifting to a renewable energy economy could bring more jobs and lower electricity bills for Pennsylvanians.

However, Wolf, who has studied the science and economic realities, knows the dire consequences of inaction.

He also knows Pennsylvania is in an excellent position to take advantage of this opportunity to transition to a cleaner energy future--one that reduces carbon pollution even as it saves consumers money, grows the economy and creates jobs, and generates significant investments in renewables and energy efficiency.

The scientific community has been calling on our leaders to act on climate change, and I'm glad Wolf is wisely moving Pennsylvania forward on this.

We're fortunate that he's standing firm against the political forces, because while the Supreme Court may have temporarily halted the Clean Power Plan, it won't be able to hit the pause button on climate change.

Only we can do that, by demanding that our policymakers favor the needed transition away from fossil fuels toward a clean energy economy.

Michael Mann is Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science at The Pennsylvania State University and co-author of the recently updated and expanded Dire Predictions: Understanding Climate Change.