A report released last month by nonprofit environmental group Acadia Center found that the RGGI states — Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont — reduced carbon dioxide emissions in the power sector by nearly half, exceeding the national rate by 90%. At the same time, the economies in the partner states grew by 47%, much faster than the rest of the country, the report concludes.

And it’s clear that RGGI drove at least some of this movement, said Jordan Stutt, carbon programs director at Acadia Center.

“The RGGI states took a bold step when they created the program,” Stutt said. “That risk has paid off.”

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