NY to cap and trade greenhouse gas.

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NY State to lead 9 other states to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
From Here:

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer released draft regulations today that would implement a cap and trade carbon credit system for power plants in the state.

The program is designed to cut 16 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the state by 2019.

“Under the agreement, annual emissions of CO2 from New York power plants will be capped at 64 million tons from 2009 until 2014, and after that the cap will be reduced by 2 1/2 percent per year until 2019,” Spitzer said at a news conference in Brooklyn.

Additional States are NJ, NH, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont.

Spitzer went on to say:

“We would love to see the federal government embrace this concept, we would love to see the federal government adopt a national policy of cap and trade that perhaps would eliminate our need to do it at a state or local level.”

“Until that moment occurs, however, we will continue to do what we’ve done for many years, which is to, we think, lead the way with policy that will pursue the public interest, protect the environment, ensure the health of our children, and, frankly, the health of the entire planet.”

Here is the NYT article.

They link to the actual Initiative: 10-state Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

It includes a PDF of the Memorandum of Understanding.

From a Press Release PDF a better summary:

Under RGGI, the seven states will launch a regional capandtrade
system
that utilizes emissions credits or allowances to limit the total amount of CO2
emissions. Beginning in 2009, emissions of CO2 from power plants in the region
would be capped at approximately current levels—121 million tons annually—
with this cap remaining in place until 2015. The states would then begin reducing
emissions incrementally over a fouryear
period to achieve a 10 percent
reduction by 2019. Compared to the emissions increases the region would see
from the sector without the program, RGGI will result in an approximately 35
percent reduction by 2020.
Under the capandtrade
program, the states will issue one allowance, or
permit, for each ton of CO2 emissions allowed by the cap. Each plant will be
required to have enough allowances to cover its reported emissions. The plants
may buy or sell allowances, but an individual plant’s emissions cannot exceed
the amount of allowances it possesses. The total amount of the allowances will
be equal to the emissions cap for the region. Coalfired,
oilfired,
and gasfired
electric generating units with a capacity of 25 megawatts or more will be included
under RGGI.
The RGGI states have agreed that at least 25 percent of a state’s
allowances are to be dedicated to strategic energy or consumer benefit
purposes, such as energy efficiency, new clean energy technologies and
ratepayer rebates. A power plant also could purchase these allowances for its
own use. The funds generated from these sales will be used for beneficial
energy programs.
The RGGI program allows power plants to utilize “offsets”—greenhouse
gas emission reduction projects from outside the electricity sector—to account for
up to 3.3 percent of their overall emissions. Offset projects provide generators
with additional flexibility to meet their compliance obligations at the lowest cost.
A power plant owner/operator will be allowed to select the lowest cost emission
reductions and apply them to a portion of the plant’s emissions requirement.
Examples of offset projects include: natural gas enduse
efficiency, landfill gas
recovery, reforestation, and methane capture from farming facilities.

I think it is a monumental initiative that will hopefully lead the way to a cleaner US and a better planet. I am very happy this is going through and I hope and expect California will follow suit or better soon.

Jim

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