It will be news to many Pennsylvanians that serious discussions are going on in the state about a significant increase in the tax on gasoline and on-road diesel.

Called the Transportation Climate Initiative (TCI), this effort has as its goal the formation of a compact agreement among northeastern states to agree to implement a carbon cap and trade program on transportation fuels. The idea is to address climate change by increasing fuel prices and making electric vehicles a more attractive alternative.

The plan would require petroleum companies to buy credits that would allow them to sell motor fuel over a cap established by the states.

While limiting gas emissions is a laudable goal, there is no way to enact TCI without increasing prices at the pump for Pennsylvanians. The initial estimate from TCI itself is that this requirement would add 17 cents a gallon to fuels. In addition, a recent Tuft’s University study projects a potential 38-cent-a-gallon gas increase and a separate study projects a 52-cent-a-gallon increase in diesel fuel.

Pennsylvanians already pay the second highest fuel taxes in the nation.

Revenue to the state generated by this plan would likely go toward rebates for purchasing electric vehicles and development of a recharging infrastructure. Not something most Pennsylvanians would benefit from now or in the near future.

Many other states have also suggested a significant portion of this money could be used for urban mass transit funding. If adopted in Pennsylvania, this would be a de facto tax — and a regressive one at that.

Millions of Pennsylvanians would be forced to bear the brunt of this cost. It would particularly hit hard on those in rural areas who drive long distances to work, for medical care or to purchase life necessities. A time of pandemic and slow economic recovery from it is not the time to add this kind of burden to consumers and businesses.

It has been reported that the governors in the Northeast states are scheduled to decide soon on whether to join TCI. The Pennsylvania Petroleum Association respectfully urges Gov. Tom Wolf to hold off on joining TCI, as some other governors involved have suggested.

(Michael McCarthy is president of the Pennsylvania Petroleum Association and is with Shipley Energy in York.)