Northeast Carbon Market Emerges

A regional carbon market opens for ten northeastern states under the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI, in effect January 1, 2009), which will force utilities to purchase carbon emissions rights or shut down. There are concerns about a drain of the already high-priced companies from the regulated states to unregulated states further west, skewing the playing field in favor of coal-powered plants in non-member states. Pennsylvania, home to the top 50 dirtiest power plants in the country, has opted out and may be a big magnet for northeastern utilities. Critics say that truly progressive and effective legislation should be national, not regional, and that RGGI may be a stepping stone to this purpose. Full Story: Policy Innovations