NEW YORK CITY-- The nine Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) states hosted the next in a series of stakeholder meetings today in their 2016-2017 RGGI program review to establish limits on carbon pollution emissions from the region’s electric sector between 2020 and 2030. During today’s meeting state officials reviewed modeling of policy scenarios to be considered in the program review, with the hopes of deciding on a scenario in the coming months.
The states modeled three different scenarios for the future of the program. The data released by RGGI shows that there is essentially no difference in power prices -- this, advocates maintain, is one of the main reasons the states should select the strongest carbon reduction plan available.
The meeting comes weeks after Governor Hogan publicly stated he disagreed with President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Agreement. However, Governor Hogan has yet to announce any major new policy courses for Maryland to truly lead on climate action. Advocates say the RGGI program is his opportunity to act, post-Paris announcement, in order to underscore his stance on climate leadership.
The participating states included in RGGI are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
In response David Smedick, Maryland Beyond Coal Campaign and Policy Representative for the Sierra Club issued the following statement:
“Governor Hogan says he would not have withdrawn from the Paris agreement, but it’s time for him to step up and follow that climate-positive message with climate-positive leadership. Now is the time for the Governor to publicly advocate for the strongest carbon reduction limit currently under consideration. Maryland’s leadership is essential to the process and ensuring the strongest possible RGGI program will accelerate Maryland’s investment in job-creating solar and wind, while helping families and businesses save money by reducing their energy use. Governor Hogan has focused on bringing jobs and economic development to the state and RGGI is a critical part of turning that promise into a reality.”
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