Statement of Environment
Connecticut Program Director Christopher Phelps
on Attorney General Blumenthal’s rejection of proposed last minute changes to
Connecticut’s
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative regulations
(Hartford, CT
-) We are gratified by the Attorney General’s determination that the
administration’s proposed last-minute changes to the Regional Greenhouse Gas
Initiative (RGGI) regulations don’t meet the requirements of the energy bill
signed into law by Governor Rell in 2007. When the legislature debated that
legislation, they directed the administration to invest the proceeds from sale
of RGGI pollution permits into in efficiency and clean energy programs that
provide lasting savings for Connecticut’s consumers through reduced demand
for expensive and polluting fossil fuels.
Environment Connecticut urges the
legislature’s Regulation Review Committee to approve the RGGI regulations as
originally submitted by the governor and approved by the Attorney General.
RGGI is a critical part of
Connecticut’s
efforts to cut global warming pollution. Timely implementation of RGGI this year
is an important step towards achieving the statewide mandatory global warming
pollution limits Governor Rell signed into law in June, 2008. We urge the
legislature’s regulation review committee to approve the final regulations as
originally submitted by the governor when they meet on July 22. That approval is
necessary to ensure that Connecticut participates in the first auction
of pollution credits for the RGGI program this September.
The governor’s proposal for small
rebates to consumers was obviously well intentioned and we applaud her desire to
ensure that Connecticut continues is leadership in cutting
global warming pollution while also helping consumers. We look forward to
continuing to work with her administration and the legislature to implement RGGI
to ensure that it achieves real reductions in global warming pollution from
power plants in a manner that is most affordable for Connecticut’s
families.
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