New Power Plants Rules Remain in Limbo
As the new home of RIPIRG's environmental work, Environment Rhode Island can be contacted regarding this news release.
PROVIDENCE—Environmental
and public interest groups applauded Rhode Island’s announcement of new
global warming pollution standards for cars, while renewing their calls
for the Governor to join other Northeastern states in regulating global
warming emissions from regional power plants.
“Today’s
announcement is truly bittersweet,” said Matt Auten, Advocate with the
Rhode Island Public Interest Research Group (RIPIRG). “These new car
standards are a big step forward, but the fight against global warming
is a zero-sum game. If power plant emissions continue to rise then the
gains these new standards create won’t mean much at the end of the day.”
Rhode
Island Governor Donald Carcieri failed to sign the regional agreement
this week citing a need for more time. But after careful development
for more than two years, governors from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, and Vermont were ready to move
forward with the plan.
“Cleaning
up global warming pollution from cars and trucks is a step in the right
direction,” said Chris Wilhite, Clean Water Action’s Campaign Organizer
in Rhode Island. “But Rhode Island is now the only New England state
that still has no plan to cut global warming pollution from power
plants, which are the second largest contributors of greenhouse gases.”
Known
as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the accord takes
effect in 2009, and will reduce carbon dioxide pollution from power
plants to a level 10 percent below current emissions by 2019. The
policy is expected to lower utility bills by helping consumers and
businesses use energy more efficiently. It will also give industry in
the Northeast a competitive edge as national global warming pollution
limits take shape.
A
recent analysis commissioned by the governors predicted the state
climate accord would actually save typical residential customers about
$50 per year at current levels of state energy efficiency investment.
And the researchers concluded that states could more than double those
household savings by using funds raised by the new initiative to
increase efficiency investment and incentives even further.
“The
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative presents an opportunity for Rhode
Island to make huge energy efficiency gains and reduce global warming
pollution from power plants,” Auten said. “If our state were to join
the agreement, there would be a huge opportunity to customize the
program to benefit Rhode Island consumers by maximizing investments in
energy efficiency and renewable energy development within the state.
Since the program does not begin until 2009 there is still time for
Rhode Island to join the pact,” Auten concluded.
In
2001, the New England Governors agreed to a set of regional emission
reduction goals to combat global warming. The coalition is working to
ensure that the New England Governors implement the Climate Change
Action Plans to reach their goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to
10% below 1990 levels by 2020. Since 2001, the regional agreement has
propelled New England states, including Rhode Island, to the forefront
of the fight against global warming.
Personal
cars, trucks and SUV’s account are the largest source of global warming
emissions in New England. Power plants are the second largest source.
Without
both the auto-emission standards and the power plant standards it is
unclear whether Rhode Island will be able to hit its climate change
goals.
Transportation
is the largest single source of global warming pollution in Rhode
Island and the fastest growing. Between 1990 and 2003 the number of
vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) in Rhode Island increased from 7.4 billion
miles to 8.4 billion miles annually (about 23 million miles a day), a
14 percent increase. This increase in miles traveled coupled with
stagnating fuel-economy standards has made transportation the fastest
growing source of global warming emissions in Rhode Island.
Scientists
project that average temperatures in Rhode Island could increase 2-10
degrees over the next century if no action is taken to reduce global
warming emissions. In Rhode Island global warming could lead to hotter
and more intense summer smog seasons, more intense storms and
hurricanes, increased coastal flooding and beach erosion, and
ecological changes in Narragansett Bay.
