Northeastern States Agree to Reduce Global Warming Pollution from Power Plants
On December 20, after two years of negotiations, seven northeastern states reached a landmark agreement to reduce global warming pollution from power plants. This pact, known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, is a cooperative effort by seven northeastern states that aims to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, a chief heat-trapping gas. It sends a strong signal that Americans are ready to implement innovative solutions to meet the challenge of global warming. UCS experts worked with state officials on the development of this plan and our activists sent many thousands of letters to their governors about the need for regional efforts on global warming.
RGGI was initiated in April 2003, when New York Governor George E. Pataki called on governors of northeastern states to work together to reduce global warming pollution from power plants. Nine governors originally committed to participate in this effort.
From July 2003 until December 2005, these northeastern states participated in a detailed process to develop a framework for the RGGI program. This process included receiving input from a wide range of stakeholder groups and experts and conducting varied analysis on program design. After extended negotiations, seven states—Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont—officially released an agreement about the framework of RGGI on December 20, 2005. Though Massachusetts and Rhode Island were part of the negotiations, they chose not to sign-on at this time.
This agreement calls on these states to stabilize carbon dioxide emissions from the region's power plants at current levels (2005) from 2009 to the start of 2015, followed by a 10 percent reduction in emissions by 2019. In order to accomplish this, the emissions allowed under the new cap will then be divided up into individual permits and allocated by each state. Generators will need to hold a number of permits equal to their emissions. They will be able to trade permits and to offset up to 3.3 percent of their emissions by purchasing "offsets allowances," which are "certified emissions reductions or carbon sequestration that take place outside the electric generating sector."
