Albany – Under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), carbon pollution from power plants in participating states is capped and for each ton emitted, power plants must purchase an “allowance.”
For Immediate Release; December 11, 2019
New York’s first chance to show it’s serious about the new climate law
Albany – Under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), carbon pollution from power plants in participating states is capped and for each ton emitted, power plants must purchase an “allowance.” The supply of those allowances is capped, and allowances are sold at quarterly auctions. The proceeds from those auctions are then distributed to the RGGI states. The latest auction proceeds were announced last Friday with $28.7 million headed to New York for a grand total of nearly $1.3 billion since RGGI’s inception.
New York’s new climate law states that low-income and disadvantaged communities should now be receiving a third of these proceeds. This 35% provision means $10 million from the recent auction should be dedicated to these communities.
Today, NYSERDA (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) is holding its annual RGGI Stakeholder Meeting. Documents released ahead of the meeting show that they have no current plan to properly allocate this funding.
The following quote can be attributed to Conor Bambrick, Air & Energy Director for Environmental Advocates NY:
“This RGGI funding is New York’s first opportunity to show that the state is serious about implementing the new climate law. This can’t be another case of business as usual. New York must not miss this opportunity to come out of the gate with a strong plan that demonstrates its commitment to those communities most impacted by the challenges of climate change.”
You can find more information in an EANY report “RGGI at a Crossroads.”
Details of today’s RGGI Stakeholder meeting:
Webinar Details
Topic: RGGI Stakeholder Meeting
Date/Time: Wednesday, December 11, 2019 3:30 p.m. ET
Event number: 319 938 646
Event password: RGGI11
Event address for attendees: https://meetny.webex.com/meetny/j.php MTID=mcfc97ce3a92404f3a409245967cf6fa0
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