Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, is a regional agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. Under the RGGI agreement, the governors of 10 Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic States have committed to cap the amount of carbon dioxide (or CO₂, the principal greenhouse gas) that power plants are allowed to emit. State regulations will hold the allowed level constant through 2014, and then gradually reduce it. By 2019, the cap will be 10 percent lower than it initially was, and emissions are estimated to be 16 percent lower than they would be if the power plants had continued emitting on a business-as-usual basis.

Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change

A naturally occurring greenhouse effect has regulated the earth's climate system for millions of years. Solar energy from the sun that reaches the surface of the earth is radiated back out into the atmosphere as long wave or infrared radiation. CO₂ and other naturally occurring GHGs trap heat in our atmosphere, maintaining the average temperature of the planet approximately 50 degrees Fahrenheit (°F) above what it would be otherwise. An enhanced greenhouse effect, and associated climate change, results as large quantities of anthropogenic GHGs, especially CO₂ from the burning of fossil fuels, are added to the atmosphere.

Overwhelming scientific evidence suggests that a warming climate poses a serious threat to New York's environmental resources and public health. Climate changes will have effects on air quality, water quality, fisheries, drinking water supplies, wetlands, forests, wildlife, and agriculture. Flooding from severe weather events and rising sea levels can damage communities and infrastructure in floodplains and along coastlines.

Burning fossil fuels for electric generation is a major contributor of CO₂ to the atmosphere, and in New York, electric power plants pump out approximately one-quarter of all CO₂ emissions. This means that reducing the amount of CO₂ emitted by power plants is a necessary piece of any solution to climate change.

The RGGI Strategy

The RGGI program will help counter the threat of a warming climate, and also will produce significant public health and environmental benefits including improved local air quality, forest preservation, better agricultural manure handling practices (leading to better water and air quality in rural areas), and a more robust, diverse and clean energy supply.

The RGGI participating states are using a market-based approach called cap-and-trade to achieve the reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases. This website provides details on the cap and trade strategy, which includes:

A multi-state CO₂ emissions budget (cap) that will decrease gradually until it is 10 percent lower than at the start
A market-based emissions trading system

Support for low-carbon solutions, including energy efficiency and clean renewable energy (such as solar and wind power)

RGGI in New York

The RGGI states have negotiated a regional CO₂ budget of approximately 188 million tons, and have apportioned it among themselves. New York's initial CO₂ budget will be approximately 64.3 million tons (before the 10 percent reduction is made). The states are currently developing rules to implement the CO₂ Budget Trading Program.

Responsibility for implementing RGGI will be shared by three departments of New York State government: the Department of Public Service, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). DEC and NYSERDA are currently engaged in rulemaking to implement RGGI; the revised rules were released for public comment on May 7, 2008.

DEC will establish New York's CO₂ Budget Trading Program through a new rule (6 NYCRR Part 242) and revisions to an existing rule (6 NYCRR Part 200, General Provisions). The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) will administer the auction process by which the state will sell emissions allowances to the power plants through a new rule (21 NYCRR Part 507 - CO₂ Allowance Auction Program). Under this rule, proceeds from the sale of the allowances will fund projects and programs for energy efficiency and clean renewable energy. The release of the proposed revised regulations initiates a 45-day public comment period that ends on June 23. Public hearings will be held in Albany and Stony Brook on June 9.

Stakeholder involvement has been crucial to RGGI's success in developing a workable model rule to serve as a template for all the RGGI states' regulations. New York's stakeholder group, which included energy industry representatives and non-governmental organizations, met 14 times between 2003 and 2007. Public comment was solicited and reviewed on a variety of written documents, including draft reports of the RGGI working groups and the model cap-and-trade rule used as a template for the states' regulations. New York has also invited comments on an advance draft of its revised CO₂ Budget Trading Program regulations.

The hearings will be held for the proposed rulemakings and acceptance of the DGEIS at the following locations and times:

DATE: MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2008
TIME: 2:00 P.M.
PLACE: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway
Room 129
Albany, NY 12233

DATE: MONDAY, JUNE 9, 2008
TIME: 1:00 P.M.
PLACE: NYSDEC Region 1
50 Circle Road, Conference Room,
Basement Room #002 A/B,
Stony Brook, NY 11790

The public hearings are scheduled in places that are reasonably accessible to persons with impaired mobility. At the hearings, the Department will provide interpreter services for deaf persons at no charge. Written requests for such services are required and should be submitted by May 23, 2008, to Laura Stevens, NYSDEC, 625 Broadway, Albany NY 12233-3250; Phone: (518) 402-8451; E-mail: airregs@gw.dec.state.ny.us.

More about Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative:

How RGGI's Cap-and-Trade System Works - Mechanisms used by the RGGI cap-and-trade system, and how New York State will implement them
Current RGGI Stakeholder Meeting Announcement and Agenda - The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, is a cooperative effort by Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
New York's Greenhouse Gas Stakeholder Process - The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, is a cooperative effort by Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states to reduce carbon dioxide emissions
Economic Effects of RGGI - The RGGI program is expected to have a small effect on electric power rates for consumers.