#rggi

Excerpt from this story from Inside Climate News:

After a tight vote by the state’s Air Pollution Control Board, Virginia has moved one step closer to exiting the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative and fulfilling an executive order issued by Gov. Glenn Youngkin the day he took office.

In theory, the board’s 4-3 vote on June 7 to repeal Virginia’s participation in the initiative, known as RGGI, opens the way for Youngkin, a Republican, to finalize a withdrawal by the end of this year. But legal challenges from environmentalists and others appear likely: Many argue that a board reporting to the governor cannot reverse a binding 2020 decision by the state General Assembly to enlist Virginia in the program.

RGGI (pronounced reggie) is a cooperative agreement in which 11 Eastern states take part in a market mechanism to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and arrest climate change. Under the accord, fossil-fuel-powered electricity generators with a capacity greater than or equal to 25 megawatts must purchase “allowances” commensurate with the emissions from their plants, giving the utilities an incentive to decrease those emissions over time. An overall limit, or cap, on the states’ emissions is reduced year by year as the allowances are traded within the market.

When state lawmakers brought Virginia into RGGI in 2020 under the Clean Energy and Community Flood Preparedness Act, they added two major provisions: 50 percent of the money had to be spent on energy efficiency programs in low-income communities, and another 45 percent had to go toward helping communities adversely affected by sea-level rise and flooding.

So far, the initiative has generated over $650 million for the state, helping strapped Virginians make upgrades to their homes and allowing communities to gird their defenses against rising seas and flooding.  

Excerpt from this story from E&E News:

The Northeast’s cap-and-trade program has installed its keystone. Now, the question is how long it will stay in place.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf (D) announced last week that his administration had finalized a regulation to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a cap-and-trade program for power plants encompassing 12 Northeastern states.

The move represents a massive expansion of carbon pricing in America — capping power plant emissions in one of the country’s leading electricity-generating states. But the Keystone State’s participation in the program faces immediate tests in the form of a lawsuit and a gubernatorial contest this fall.

Wolf, who has pushed a regulatory rule to join RGGI over fierce Republican objections, is term-limited and set to depart Harrisburg next year. Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democrat running to replace him, has expressed skepticism about the program. Republicans are staunchly opposed to it.

The coming election — and whether Pennsylvania’s participation in RGGI survives it — will serve as a political litmus test for carbon pricing programs in the United States, said Barry Rabe, a professor who studies state climate action at the University of Michigan.

“It is a really significant expansion and one that the RGGI states have been pulling for for a long time,” he said. But he added, “This could have the weakest footing of any of the now 12 states that have joined RGGI. … Pennsylvania-style RGGI is largely the work of a term-limited governor who can’t choose his successor and doesn’t have a basis of support currently in the Legislature.”

Excerpt:

The first U.S. cap and trade program designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the electric power sector has proven so successful that some supporters are now wondering if it ought to go national.

About the same time the 2009 energy bill's national cap-and-trade plan was struggling in Congress, several Northeastern states were forming a program of their own. Senate skeptics stopped the Waxman-Markey proposal, but New England’s Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) prevailed.

The latest numbers show it is responsible for millions of tons of avoided greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) and billions of dollars in benefits to electricity users throughout the region.

Two new states are now applying to join the current nine members. And several more states have shown a willingness to discuss the privileges of membership with RGGI leaders.

A Coalition of the Willing

In the short time since the election, it’s already become a truism that state governments will have to keep the flame alive for environmental protection. But it’s not just individual state governments. It’s also crucial for states to work together. There’s been a lot of loose talk about “Calexit” out here. Secession is unconstitutional. (As one of my Minnesota colleagues used to say, that was…

Environmental groups host 2016 Post Election Round Table 

CONCORD, NH – How will the current environmental protections continue to safeguard our public health with the dramatic shift in the administration in the White House and the State House? Energy saving and pollution reduction programs, once a unifying non-partisan issue, are now a cause for great division and political strife.  Over 100 people attended a roundtable discussion with a number of local experts provided a greater understanding of how the programs work and their wide ranging benefits.  Speakers included Representative Bill Baber of Dover, Taylor Caswell of the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, Jack Ruderman of Revision Energy and Rebecca Whitley of Mom’s Clean Air Force. Sam Evans-Brown of New Hampshire Public Radio acted as the moderator.  

The dramatic two-year presidential campaign’s final conclusion has many people questioning the future of the country’s policies concerning many issues from foreign relations, the economy, healthcare, marriage equality, abortion, job growth, taxes and the environment. Over the course of the election, voters polled consistently in the Granite State and across the country said that they support action on climate change and renewable energy. New Hampshire participates in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative – a nine state market driven carbon pollution reduction program that promotes investments in energy efficiency, weatherization, building retrofits and renewable energy. RGGI is the model for the recently introduced national carbon reduction program called the Clean Power Plan. Both President-Elect Trump and Governor-Elect Sununu have stated differences with the current administrations’ support for the market based energy saving programs aimed to create climate solutions. Candidate Trump went so far as calling climate change a “hoax by the Chinese” in a tweet.

The post-election roundtable discussion was held at the Concord Public Library in Concord, NH and hosted by the League of Conservation Voters, Union of Concerned Scientists, Environment America, Mom’s Clean Air Force, National Wildlife Federation and New Hampshire Sierra Club. The host organizations highlighted opportunities to reach out to the new administrations in the State House to demonstrate support for energy saving programs, offering to arrange meetings, monitor legislation and creating meaningful actions.

The roundtable was broadcasted live on Facebook (include below) and comments posted on Twitter that can be seen @NHSierraClub. 

Quotes and Brief Biographies of Speakers

NH State Representative Bill Baber:

 “We are about to experience a governmental change with greater unknowns following any previous election.  This is especially true for the environment, energy, and our economy.”

Bill Baber is an outgoing member of the House Science, Technology, and Energy Committee where he acted as the Democratic ranking member.  He is a Vietnam era veteran with a rich academic and employment background ranging from film making to computer science.

Taylor Caswell:

“The economics of climate change will continue, regardless of what a government may or may not do.  Every time a business or a municipality finances a project through our Clean Energy Fund, they cut their energy costs, and that reduces carbon emissions.  It’s a basic operational and financial decision that increasingly makes the most sense for New Hampshire organizations.”

Taylor Caswell is the executive director of the New Hampshire Community Development Finance Authority, whose mission is to facilitate community economic development across the state with financial and technical resources.  CDFA’s total assets under management each year exceed $30 million, and include the New Hampshire Clean Energy Fund which provides resources for energy efficiency retrofits and renewable energy integration for organizations statewide.

Rebecca Whitley:

“We cannot allow President-Elect Trump, or our New Hampshire elected officials, to wage a war on public health.  The progress on climate action over the last 8 years is important for our children’s health and for future generations. We need to organize and become the checks and balances to protect our children against any attack on their health and well-being.”   

Becky Whitley is the field organizer for Moms Clean Air Force in New Hampshire. She received a B.B.A. from George Washington University and a J.D. from Vermont Law School. Becky has always been committed to social justice and children’s health. She comes to Moms Clean Air Force after many years of practicing public interest law, representing adults and children on important disability rights issues and participating in policy advocacy. Becky works to mobilize parents in New Hampshire and advocates for children’s right to clean air and a healthy climate. 

Jack Ruderman

Jack Ruderman is the Director of Community Solar Initiatives for Revision Energy, an ambitious effort to solarize municipalities, nonprofits, and schools throughout the Granite State, as well as organize the development of community solar farms. Jack previously served as Director of the Sustainable Energy Division of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, where he was responsible for administering the state’s Renewable Energy Fund. He also served 12 years at the New Hampshire Governor’s Office of Energy and Planning.  He holds a B.A. in political science from Tufts University and a J.D. from Northeastern University School of Law.

Moderator Sam Evans-Brown

Sam Evans-Brown is a reporter and host on New Hampshire Public Radio. Covering the environmental beat for NHPR, Sam’s reporting won him several awards, including two Edward R. Murrow awards, and he was also a 2013 Steinbrenner Institute Environmental Media Fellow at Carnegie Mellon University. Last year, Sam helped launch a new show called Outside/In to further explore his environmental interests. Find the show http://outsideinradio.org/  on Twitter and Face Book @OutsideInRadio.

CONCORD, NH — A coalition of New Hampshire groups delivered 992 petitions to the governor’s office on Tuesday, calling on the state to strengthen the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). As RGGI undergoes a policy review, environmental advocates are calling on the state to double the strength of the program by lowering the cap on carbon emissions by 5% instead of 2.5% every year.

The coalition includes Environment New Hampshire, League of Conservation Voters, National Wildlife Federation, Mom’s Clean Air Force, Toxics Action Center, Union of Concerned Scientists, and New Hampshire Sierra Club.

“Strengthening the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is the best way for New Hampshire to do its part in cutting dangerous carbon emissions and investing in a clean energy economy,” said Michelle McCarthy, a campaign organizer for Environment New Hampshire.

“The RGGI program has been very effective in reducing carbon emissions, creating jobs and sparking investments in renewable energy sources” said Rob Werner, State Director of the League of Conservation Voters. “New Hampshire should follow the lead of other RGGI states and allow RGGI proceeds to be used more effectively to support a variety of  approaches to continue to move from a high carbon economy to a low carbon economy.”

“People in New Hampshire want to be part of the solution and want more tools to act on climate,” Catherine Corkery, NH Sierra Club. “The RGGI program has been a great first step for the last 8 years. Now New Hampshire needs to go farther and faster with more energy efficiency, more renewables and more financial tools. We need our leaders to hear us and act on climate with us.” 

The coalition will be hosting a People’s Hearing to focus on supporting and strengthening RGGI at UNH School of Law in Concord on Wednesday, September 28th. The coalition plans to deliver testimony from the hearing to the Governor at a later date.

Petition language below.

To: Honorable Governor Hassan, NHDES Commissioner Thomas Burack, and NHPUC Commissioner Bob Scott,

The connection between climate and energy use is critical because power plants are some of the leading contributors to climate disruption and unhealthy air pollution. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is New Hampshire’s program to reduce carbon pollution from those dirty energy sources, helping businesses and families save money on energy bills, improving the local economy, and protecting our climate and health. Currently, there is a review of the regional energy savings program.

For New Hampshire, I support three improvements:

Reducing the amount of carbon pollution power plants are allowed to emit by at least 5% annually from 2020 levels through 2030;

Closing or reforming loopholes in the program including the cost containment reserve and credit banking program; and,

Eliminating the corporate rebate program and instead directing more of the funds to the Energy Efficiency Programs to benefit taxpayers, low income households, and residents.

By improving our climate protections you can make sure New Hampshire is in the driver’s seat when it comes to meeting the goals of the Clean Power Plan, helping consumers save money, reducing pollution, improving the local economy, and protecting our climate and public health.