first published week of: 08/10/2015
Flexibility built into the Clean Power Plan will give some states an incentive to consider joining the Northeast's Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, as the nine-state compact's emissions trading is a natural fit with mass-based approaches allowed under the EPA's plan.
"There are elements in the final plan that provide a lot of flexibility to states, and the EPA is looking for ways to facilitate state participation in mass-based trading," RGGI Chair Katie Dykes told Argus. The RGGI states in 2030 will have a CO2 budget of about 81 million short tons — only about 7 million lower than they've already budgeted.
The Obama administration this week unveiled the final rule, calling for cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 32% by 2030, relative to 2005 levels. The final rule calls for deeper cuts than the proposed rule did, but also allows states two more years to begin showing results, in 2022. continued…