Environment DEC
From the June 2007 issue
New York Joins 31-State Collaboration to Collect Climate Change Information
Effects of climate change will be monitored over 31 states, one tribal nation and two Canadian provinces
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Pete Grannis recently announced that New York State would be joining 30 other states as charter members of The Climate Registry (see "Related Off-site Links" below), an initiative that enables participating states to collect and share greenhouse-gas emission data.
Registry to Serve as Reporting Infrastructure
The Climate Registry will assist in measuring, tracking, and verifying emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), the gases that cause climate change. It will also provide the measurement and reporting infrastructure to support voluntary, mandatory, market-based and emissions reduction programs that are consistent across borders and industry sectors. The registry will begin accepting emissions data in January 2008.
"In his 2007 State of the State Address, Governor Eliot Spitzer specifically cited the need to link and expand climate change initiatives with other states in order to build upon New York's existing greenhouse-gas reduction programs," Commissioner Grannis said. "The Climate Registry will be an important tool. The exchange of information it enables will be the basis of innovative and necessary approaches to reducing the impacts of climate change in our state and nation."
Registry Members
Members of The Climate Registry include the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. The Campo Kumeyaay Nation and two Canadian provinces, British Columbia and Manitoba, have also committed to participate.
The Climate Registry is complementary to New York's ongoing implementation of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a program in which ten Northeastern states have agreed to implement a carbon dioxide cap-and-trade program for the generation of electricity. When implemented, RGGI will be the first mandatory cap-and-trade program for greenhouse-gas pollution in United States history. A draft regulatory proposal to implement RGGI in New York was released by DEC on December 5, 2006, and is being finalized before being formally proposed as a draft rule in coming months. See "Related Off-site Links" below for a link to the RGGI website and more information.
New DEC Climate Change Office Created
In addition to moving forward on RGGI, the 2007-08 State Budget expands on New York's climate change efforts by creating a new Climate Change Office within DEC. The office will have a staff of 13 professionals, including 12 new positions, and will receive support from staff in DEC's Division of Air Resources. The Climate Change Office will be responsible for implementing the RGGI in New York, as well as the development of other initiatives to combat the ecological and economic threats caused by climate change.
