Global Warming In the News

Mass. signs greenhouse gas pact; R.I. only holdout

01:00 AM EST on Sunday, January 21, 2007

Massachusetts recently rejoined a regional agreement with seven Northeast states to curb air pollution from energy power plants. The move makes Rhode Island the only state holding out on the agreement. Newly elected Massachusetts Governor Patrick followed through on a campaign promise Thursday to participate in the country’s first multistate program designed to cut carbon dioxide emissions. “The challenge of climate change illustrates vividly the need to integrate energy and environmental policy,” Patrick said in a news release.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, crafted by nine states including Rhode Island and Massachusetts, intends to reduce the amount of man-made greenhouse gases in the air that contribute to global warming. It targets carbon dioxide, which comprises 82 percent of the man-made gases that are trapping more sunlight into the earth’s atmosphere. The initiative will create a “cap and trade” system, allowing states to charge power plants for emitting carbon dioxide starting in 2009. Money generated from the initiative could be used for energy-efficiency programs, clean alternative energy or electric bill rebates. The ultimate goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the Northeast by 10 percent by 2019.

The other participating states are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Vermont. Last year, Governor Carcieri and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney backed out of the plan, citing concerns that the program would raise electricity prices, which are among the highest in the country.

In light of Patrick’s decision, three local environmental groups — the Conservation Law Foundation, Clean Water Action and Environment Rhode Island — are petitioning Carcieri to rejoin the pact. “It really makes no sense for Rhode Island not to be in the program because we are all on the same energy grid,” said Cynthia Giles, director of the Rhode Island office of the Conservation Law Foundation. Giles also said the program would be a “win-win” situation because it could reduce carbon dioxide and create economic and environmental benefits.

While the program would initially raise the cost of electricity, Giles said selling the emission permits would offset the price. A Rhode Island analysis commissioned by the nine states predicted electricity rates could rise by 0.3 percent to 2.4 percent, but energy-efficiency programs could help residents save $108 annually in electricity bills.

According to Jeff Neal, Carcieri’s spokesman, the governor is still concerned about the economic costs. But Carcieri is keeping his options open and recently asked his staff and the state Department of Environmental Management to review the initiative again to see what the impact would be for Rhode Island. “The governor wants to make sure any action we take, we take with our eyes wide open and he has not been satisfied to date that we have that information,” Neal said.

Neal noted that Carcieri has supported many environmental policies, including laws to create stricter car emission standards, increase fuel efficiency and promote renewable energy. One local power company, National Grid, supports the Massachusetts decision to rejoin the initiative and is willing to pay extra money to do business. National Grid supplies energy to 4 million customers in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and New York. The only catch, however, is the company wants to ensure the extra funds go back to their customers in the form of energy-efficiency programs or direct rebates, said David Graves, a National Grid spokesman. “Our position is the customer has to directly benefit from this,” Graves said.

To learn more about the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, visit http://www.rggi.org. Michelle J. Lee is a fellow with the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting. mlee@projo.com