The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

Te Best Regional Climate and Clean Air Program You've Never Heard Of

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, also known as RGGI (pronounced “Reggie”), is one of the best examples of U.S. climate leadership. This program, created by a bipartisan group of governors in 2005, is the nation’s first multi-state policy to cut dangerous carbon pollution from power plants and generate revenue to fund clean energy programs. It works by limiting dangerous carbon pollution from electric power plants. By making power plant owners pay to emit pollution, it generates revenue that states largely reinvest in energy efficiency, clean energy and other programs to benefit the environment and consumers.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, also known as RGGI (pronounced “Reggie”), is one of the best examples of U.S. climate leadership. This program, created by a bipartisan group of governors in 2005, is the nation’s first multi-state policy to cut dangerous carbon pollution from power plants and generate revenue to fund clean energy programs. It works by limiting dangerous carbon pollution from electric power plants. By making power plant owners pay to emit pollution, it generates revenue that states largely reinvest in energy efficiency, clean energy and other programs to benefit the environment and consumers.

The program works, and it works well. It is proving that not only can we cut pollution, but we can also cut it faster than anyone anticipated, and in ways that bring widespread benefits – for our health, our communities and our families. Since 2005, this program has helped cut dangerous pollution from power plants in half while generating at least $2.6 billion in funding for clean energy programs, delivering major benefits.

In 2017, the nine states that participate in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont) have an important opportunity to take another step forward in the fight against climate change. These states are about to finalize a plan to strengthen the program after 2020.

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