NEW YORK CITY-- The nine Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) states officially announced their proposed update to the program, establishing limits on carbon pollution from the region’s power plants through 2030. The states modeled three different scenarios for the future of the program and decided on a 30 percent reduction by 2030 from 2020 levels. The proposed update also includes adjustments for banked allowances, modifications to the cost containment reserve (CCR) price, and implementation of an Emissions Containment Reserves (ECR).
The decision comes after more than 18 months of stakeholder meetings. The participating RGGI states are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
In response Mark Kresowik, Eastern Region Deputy Director for the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal Campaign issued the following statement:
“With the current disastrous policies and rhetoric of the Trump Administration, we’re pleased to see these states step up, listen to their constituents, and come together to increase clean energy in the region. More clean energy and stronger pollution limits are overwhelmingly popular and mean more jobs, cleaner air and healthier communities. This is just a first step toward meeting the commitments to climate protection these states have made, and we look forward to working them to implement this proposal and ensuring greater support for communities overburdened by pollution and underserved by economic opportunities.”
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