Technical Information about RGGI
Energy and Carbon Savings Trustees
Download the RGGI primer from the Muskie School of Public Service at the USM and the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the University of Maine.
Learn more about how global warming will affect the climate of the Northeastern US in a 2007 report of the Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment. This report was published by the Union of Concerned Scientists in collaboration with a team of independent experts.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is a ten state cap-and-trade program that reduces global warming pollution from fossil-fuel fired power plants.
The Maine State Legislature passed a bill with overwhelming bipartisan support and the support of industry, businesses, and the environmental community. The bill was signed into law by Governor Baldacci in June 2007, authorizing Maine’s participation in the program.
RGGI will reduce global warming pollution from power plants by nearly 20% by the year 2019. It also creates incentives for energy efficiency and clean, renewable power – good for our health and a necessary step to achieve our energy independence.
• The program is moving forward with the first credit (“allowance”) auction scheduled for September 2008. The Energy and Carbon Savings Trustees, advised by the Energy Conservation Board and appointed in July 2008, will determine how the money generated from the sale of credits can be best used for energy efficiency programs and carbon savings. Energy efficiency spending from the auction will help reduce electricity bills.
• The federal government is likely to establish a long-overdue national cap and trade program in 2009. In doing so, they should not undermine RGGI objectives or the accomplishments of Maine and the nine other states.
RGGI provides numerous economic benefits by stimulating economic investment and supporting energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.
RGGI presents an opportunity to save residential, commercial, and industrial customers 5 to 15% on electricity bills and help protect against rate increases. It generates an “energy fund” worth up to $30 million to help households and businesses save money and invest in energy efficiency. RGGI creates a new “carbon market” in the Northeast, with opportunities for everyone from dairy farmers to high-tech companies able to cash in. RGGI will help Maine companies compete in the global economy, including places like Europe and Japan, which have already taken actions to combat global warming.
How Does RGGI Work?
In this “cap and trade” program, power plants are required to hold a credit (or “allowance”) for each ton of global warming pollution they emit. The states put an absolute limit on pollution levels by “capping” the total number of allowances allowed. The states will initially auction a fixed quantity of allowances, but then power plants and others can “trade” allowances. Starting in 2014, the states will gradually reduce the number of allowances auctioned each year.
RGGI is an effective and practical solution to address global warming. The program is one of the most important steps in Maine’s Climate Action Plan, our state’s plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It also creates incentives for energy efficiency and clean, renewable power – good for our health and a necessary step to achieve our energy independence. The initiative increases Maine’s impact by joining with nine other northeastern states. Together these states, add up to the seventh largest source of global warming pollution in the world. More than 30% of this pollution comes from dirty power plants.