State Passes Greenhouse Gas Regulations
ALBANY — A state board has approved regulations enacting a regional "cap and trade" program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, begun in 2005 by 10 Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states in response to concerns about global climate change, is designed to cap and then reduce the amount of carbon dioxide power plants are allowed to emit.
Each state — Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont — has agreed to issue its own regulations to put the initiative into action by January 1, 2009.
New York's Environmental Board yesterday approved regulations drafted by the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
Power plant companies will have to buy carbon dioxide emission allowances at quarterly auctions or on the secondary market to cover the volume they release into the air. They may also acquire some allowances by offsetting emissions through tree-planting, energy-efficiency programs, or other approved methods.
The first auction is scheduled for September 25. While the regulations take effect across the 10-state region on January 1, power plants have until March 1, 2012, to acquire enough allowances to cover their actual emissions between 2009 and 2011.
