Key Takeaways from the Latest RGGI Investment Report

Given these impressive results, it’s no surprise that the RGGI states have outperformed states outside the program both environmentally and economically. In a recent report, our friends at the Acadia Center found that over the last decade power plant carbon pollution in the RGGI region has fallen nearly twice as fast compared to other states. At the same time, the RGGI states’ economies have grown 31 percent faster than non-RGGI states and electricity prices in the RGGI region have fallen by an average of 5.7 percent, even as prices have risen by 8.6 percent in other states.

Read the full article from NRDC here.

Proposed Plan Would Bring Climate Justice to Providence

Buildings produce 70 percent of emissions in Providence. The transportation sector accounts for 30 percent. A report by the Acadia Center identified the major sources as homes, schools, office buildings, hospitals, cars, and buses.

Read the full article from ecoRI News here.

NJ in New Regional Effort to Cap Vehicle Emissions

“Taking on the largest source of pollution will require bold solutions, and the TCI framework offers a solid foundation for a bold regional cap-and-invest program,’’ said Jordan Stutt, carbon programs director at Acadia Center. “The TCI states need to build on that by establishing an ambitious cap on emissions — aligned with the latest science — and forward-looking investment approaches to deliver better, cleaner, more equitable transportation options across the region.’’

Read the full article from NJ Spotlight here.

A Major Fossil Fuel State Is Joining RGGI, the Northeast’s Carbon Market

Since RGGI started in 2009, participating states have cut their carbon emissions from electric generation by 47 percent—90 percent faster than the rest of the country, according to a study by the clean energy nonprofit Acadia Center.

Read the full article from Inside Climate News here.

Wolf begins process to bring Pennsylvania into regional cap-and-trade program

An analysis released in September by the Acadia Center, an environmental think tank, found that electricity prices “dropped by 5.7 percent across the [RGGI] region” between 2008 and 2017. The report also cited internal RGGI data to show a 47 percent decline in carbon emissions from power plants in the nine states since 2008.

Read the full article from the Pennsylvania Capital-Star here.

Gov. Wolf aims to raise Pa.’s profile in climate change fight by joining multi-state carbon tax program

That drop has come at a pace that is faster than the rest of the nation, and, according to a study of consumer prices by the Acadia Center, a clean-energy think tank, electricity prices have dropped by 5.7 percent across the RGGI states.

Read the full article from PennLive here.

States unveil plan to curb transportation emissions

“The framework agreement is a major achievement for this bipartisan group of states,” said Jordan Stutt, carbon programs director for the Acadia Center, an environmental advocacy group in Boston.

Stutt and others cautioned that its effectiveness will depend on the details.

“The TCI program will be a success if this framework is paired with an emissions cap that reflects the urgency of the climate crisis,” he said. “We’ve run out of time for anything less than that.”

Read the full article from The Boston Globe here.

Carbon Pulse Daily: Tuesday September 17, 2019

RGGI results – The Northeast US RGGI carbon market has cut emissions across its nine member states 90% faster than the rest of the country, as economic growth in the region outpaced the overall average by 31%, according to a report released by environmental think-tank Acadia Center. The study showed that CO2 output fell across the states by 47% since the ETS commenced in 2009, while GDP there grew by 47%. Additionally, electricity prices under RGGI fell by 5.7% over this stretch, while nationally costs rose 8.6%.

Read the full article from Carbon Pulse here.

New England aims to ensure electric vehicle rebates aren’t just for wealthy

“What’s important for this movement that is happening right now is that there is a lot of work being done to get the design of the programs done right,” said Emily Lewis, director of climate and energy analysis at the Acadia Center, which monitors climate policies in the Northeast. That includes work around the emerging Transportation Climate Initiative.

“Programs are trying to get more input at the front end of design, which was a criticism of RGGI, that is was designed before getting input,” Lewis said.

As part of the transportation initiative’s required public engagement, Lewis said, planners should do more to listen to what residents, including low-income folks and those from historically disadvantaged communities, want from transportation. It may not be incentives and rebates.

“The first thing that comes to mind when designing for equity is humility — you need to start with an open ear and an open chair and give space to the population being served,” said Williams of the Center for Sustainable Energy. “Often the design process is not collaborative itself. With that kind of humility as the first important ingredient.”

A recent public meeting on transportation issues in Connecticut revealed that residents care about safe walking and biking options, as well as more investments in public transit, Lewis said. Any rollout of new programs to address historical deficits in transportation infrastructure for low-income or historically marginalized communities will need to be considered.

“The savings from [the Transportation Climate Initiative] could be used to fund things like EV rebates — as people are still going to be driving,” Lewis said “By engaging communities and hearing their needs, it means that we can also look at funding some of these other transportation options so that we ensure benefits can be spread equitably.”

Read the full article from Energy News Network here.

Bipartisan multistate program cutting down global warming pollution from power plants

Today, a partnership of nine Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states announced that the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is delivering stronger results than ever when it comes to capping greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and raising funds to invest in clean energy. Analysis by the Acadia Center shows that in the first six months of 2019, planet-warming pollution from power plants in the RGGI states were 19.7 percent below emissions in 2018, the lowest since the program began.

Read the full article from Environment America here.