As the new home of NJPIRG's environmental work, Environment New Jersey can be contacted regarding this news release.
TRENTON—In a letter
to their respective Governors today, organizations across the Northeast
called for strong action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the region’s
power plants. Public health, faith, labor and action groups joined environmental
organizations in signing onto a set of principles that support a 25 percent
reduction in power plant carbon dioxide emissions by 2020.
“Global warming is
a serious problem that requires quick, aggressive action,” stated Emily
Rusch, Energy Advocate for NJPIRG. “Reducing carbon pollution from power
plants is a key strategy in any plan to curb the harmful effects of human-induced
climate change.”
Northeast states, including
all of New England, New York, New Jersey and Delaware, are currently engaged
in an effort called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) to create
a precedent setting cap-and-trade program to address carbon dioxide emissions
from power plants. The goal is to create a program that will bring about significant
emissions reductions in the Northeast and serve as a model for other states
seeking to do the same. A draft rule detailing the make up of the program was
scheduled to be released next month, although it now appears likely that the
draft rule may not be finalized until early summer.
“New Jersey, as a densely
populated coastal state, will feel the brunt of global warming more than any
other state in the union. That is why we have to act,” said Jeff Tittel,
NJ Sierra Club Chapter Director.
The seven principles released
today with widespread support provide a blue print for a RGGI program that relies
on a mandatory cap for carbon dioxide emissions from power plants as the primary
way to reduce emissions, does not rely on nuclear power as an emission-reduction
strategy and ensures that the dirtiest power companies, not ratepayers, bear
the majority of the costs of shifting to cleaner solutions.
"As a coastal and Garden
state on the front lines of global warming, New Jersey should be aggressively
advocating these seven principles instead of putting up unnecessary road blocks
for clean renewable energy like offshore wind. In addition to tackling global
warming head on, this is the best way to address a plethora of environmental
and economic problems from acid rain, smog, air toxics, and mercury to our over-reliance
on foreign oil specifically and fossil fuels more generally," said David
Pringle, Campaign Director for the New Jersey Environmental Federation.
Groups lending their support
these principles included the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club, the New
Jersey Environmental Federation, the New Jersey Audubon Society, Green Faith,
Delaware Riverkeeper, and Grandmothers, Mothers, and More for Energy Safety.
“The Northeast has
the opportunity to provide leadership to the rest of the country and the world
by supporting an effective program to reduce global warming pollution,”
stated Rusch. “Following these principles will lead to success.”
Emily Rusch
Energy Advocate
New Jersey Public Interest Research Group
11 N Willow St. Trenton, NJ 08608
609-394-8155 x307 ph
609-989-9013 fx
erusch@njpirg.org
March 30, 2005
The Honorable Richard Codey
New Jersey Office of the Acting Governor
P.O. Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625
Dear Acting Governor Codey,
As you know, New Jersey is part of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative,
a coalition of states in the Northeast that are working together to create a
program to dramatically reduce global warming pollution from power plants in
the region. Global warming is a serious problem that requires quick, aggressive
action. As a result of increasing dependence on burning fossil fuels for energy,
global warming is changing weather patterns and temperatures all over the world,
with harmful effects on our health, our environment, and our economy. The impacts
are already occurring - the world’s average temperature has increased .6
degrees Celsius over the last century, and scientists predict further increases
of 1.4 to 5.8 degrees Celsius between 1990 and 2100. As a result, our region
and the rest of the world has already begun to experience more extreme weather
events like storms and flooding, receding coastlines as a result of rising sea
levels, and more unhealthy smog days in the summer months.
In order to turn the tide on global warming, the United States has to take
strong action to reduce our own emissions. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
is an opportunity for the Northeast to provide leadership to the rest of the
nation, by creating a precedent setting cap-and-trade program as a model for
other states and regions throughout the country. The seriousness of the problem,
and the leadership opportunity in front of us, require that the program that
we create is effective at reducing global warming pollution from power plants
quickly and dramatically. Therefore, we have enclosed the following principles
that should act as a guide for you and your Administration as you continue to
develop the model rule.
These criteria support a program that reduces global warming pollution by at
least 25% below current levels by 2020, without loopholes or harmful subsidies,
and at minimal cost to consumers. Following these principles will ensure that
you and neighboring states provide the leadership that our country and the rest
of the world needs. We urge you to stand up for a precedent-setting program
that abides by these principles, and provide historic leadership in the worldwide
fight to stop global warming.
Sincerely,
Emily Rusch, New Jersey Public Interest Research Group
David Pringle, New Jersey Environmental Federation
Jeff Tittel, New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club
Reverend Fletcher Harper, Green Faith
Ted Korth, New Jersey Audubon Society
Tracy Carluccio, Delaware Riverkeeper Network
Paula Gotsch, Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety
The organizations listed propose that the model rule for the Regional Greenhouse
Gas Initiative should meet the following criteria:
I. Set a mandatory cap on the power sector in each of the Northeast states
to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants serving the region 10%
below current levels by 2010 and 25% below current levels by 2020 to help stop
global warming. The cap should apply to power plants operating in, and electrical
imports into, the RGGI region.
II. Create a precedent-setting cap-and-trade program as a model for other states
and regions. States should expeditiously implement the program upon release
of the model rule in April 2005. Each state’s cap should require a reduction
below current emission levels. Each state should set up a process for enforcing
in-state reductions that is transparent and verifiable to the public.
III. The rules to implement the cap-and-trade program should not create new
subsidies for nuclear power nor rely upon nuclear power as an emission-reduction
strategy.
IV. Reductions must be achieved first and foremost from a mandatory cap on
carbon dioxide emitted from fossil fueled power plants. Offsets should not be
eligible for compliance with the initial RGGI cap.
V. Subsequently, offsets should not be considered unless:
a. The regional cap is substantially reduced beyond the level stated above in
#I
b. There are stringent and explicit limits on the amount of emission reductions
that can be achieved through offsets;
c. Only offsets from within the RGGI region are allowed; and
d. Any offset meets the highest standard of environmental integrity in achieving
real, verifiable, enforceable and permanent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions,
while providing real additional environmental benefits to the RGGI region.
VI. Except for a brief transition period, states should not give allowances
to electricity generators for free. A majority of allowances initially, and
eventually all allowances, should be allocated for the benefit of consumers
and the public, by providing funding for energy
efficiency, renewable energy, and consumer rebates. If any allowances are given
to electricity generators, they should be distributed on a fuel-neutral, output
basis.
VII. States should implement complementary policies to encourage energy efficiency
and renewable energy through incentives and other measures. Such policies should
also remove barriers to investments in energy efficiency by utilities and drive
investment in efficiency by electricity and gas consumers.
Connecticut
Clean Water Action
Connecticut Public Interest Research Group
Interreligious Eco-Justice Network
CT Citizen Action Group
People’s Action for Clean Energy, Inc
Citizens Awareness Network
UU Society East, Sustainable Living Community
League of Women Voters
New Haven Environmental Justice Network
CT Coalition Against Millstone
Collaborative Center for Justice
EarthKeepers Network
Connecticut Association of Conservation and Inland Wetlands Commissions, Inc.
Middlesex Clean Air Association
Center for Serenity, Inc.
Connecticut Fund for the Environment
Sierra Club Connecticut Chapter
Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice
Environmental Concerns Coalition
Committee on the Environment, Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut
American Lung Association of Connecticut
Maine
Environment Maine
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Natural Resources Council of Maine
Conservation Law Foundation
Toxics Action Center
National Environmental Trust
Environmental Justice Program, Maine Council of Churches
Maine Public Health Association
Maine Lung Association
Chewonki Foundation
Conservation Law Foundation
Massachusetts
Clean Water Action
Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group
Massachusetts Climate Action Network
Conservation Law Foundation
Cape Clean Air
Campaign to Clean Up Brayton Point
Pilgrim Watch
Merrimack Valley Environmental Coalition
Lawrence Environmental Action Group
Boston Climate Action Network
Regional Environmental Council
Greater Boston Physicians for Social Responsibility
Toxics Action Center
Northampton Citizens for Climate Protection
Medford Climate Action Network
Unitarian Society of Northampton, Green Sanctuary Committee
Religious Witness for the Earth
HealthLink
Clean Power Now
New Hampshire
Clean Water Action
New Hampshire Public Interest Research Group
Toxics Action Center
Citizens for a Future New Hampshire
New Hampshire Citizens Alliance
New Hampshire Pediatric Society
New Hampshire Public Health Association
New Hampshire Unitarian Universalist Social Responsibility Department
Worldview, LTD
SEIU
New Hampshire Nurses Association
New Hampshire Trout Unlimited Council
Conservation Law Foundation
New Jersey
New Jersey Public Interest Research Group
New Jersey Environmental Federation
New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club
New Jersey Audubon Society
Green Faith
Delaware Riverkeeper Network
Grandmothers, Mothers and More for Energy Safety
New York
Catskill Center for Conservation and Development
Central New York Citizens in Action
Citizens Awareness Network
Environmental Advocates of New York
Federated Conservationists of Westchester County
Global Warming Action Network of Greater Syracuse
Hudson River Sloop Clearwater
Kids Against Pollution
Long Island Neighborhood Network
New York Climate Rescue
New York Public Interest Research Group
Otsego County Conservation Association
Renewable Energy Long Island
Scenic Hudson
Sustainable Energy Alliance of Long Island
Rhode Island
Clean Water Action
Rhode Island Public Interest Research Group
Rhode Island Medical Society
Rhode Island Green Party
Brown University Environment Action Network (BEAN)
Ocean State Action
Apeiron Institute for Environmental Living
Save the Bay
People’s Power and Light
Rhode Island Parents for Progress
Friends of the Mosshasuck
National Education Association of Rhode Island
Environment Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island
Westerly Land Trust
Appalachian Mountain Club- Rhode Island Chapter
United Nurses and Allied Professionals
Conservation Law Foundation
Toxics Information Project
Pawtucket Hydropower, LLC
Environment Council of Rhode Island
UNITE HERE Local 217
Solar Wrights
Rhode Island State Council of Churches
Conservation Law Foundation
Vermont
Vermont Public Interest Research Group
Southern Vermonters for a Fair Economy and Environmental Protection
Fairwind Vermont
Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility
Conservation Law Foundation
Regional/National
National Wildlife Federation
NIRS
Toxics Action Center
