"Emissions Fell Under Cap and Trade Program, Report Says"

"The cap and trade system known as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative announced on Monday that carbon dioxide emissions from power plants in the nine participating states on the East Coast fell by an average of 23 percent during the first three years of the program."

"The pioneering program, known as RGGI (pronounced reggie), sets a ceiling on carbon dioxide emissions from electric power providers and requires the companies to pay for their emissions by buying allowances in auctions held four times a year. As an incentive to cut emissions, companies that pollute less can sell their unused allowances to other companies at the auctions.

RGGI officials said that 206 of the 211 power plants subject to the program’s requirements met their compliance obligations during the first three-year period. From Jan. 1, 2009, to Dec. 31, 2011, average annual carbon dioxide emissions amounted to 126 million tons, a 23 percent decline from the previous three-year period running from 2006 through 2008."

Mireya Navarro reports for the New York Times' Green blog June 4, 2012.

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