from Foster's Daily Democrat
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) _ New Hampshire's House is endorsing a 10-state regional effort to cut greenhouse gas emissions to preserve the state's climate and way of life.
The House voted 214-107 to send a bill to the Senate that implements the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative known as RGGI.
"This is a very small step. It is almost a token step. I would agree with that 100 percent. But we have to start somewhere," said Lee Democrat Naid Kaen, the bill's prime sponsor and chair of the Science, Technology and Energy Committee.
Gov. John Lynch believes the initiative will help New Hampshire's environment and economy.
"We are dedicating ourselves here in New Hampshire to reducing the pollution that causes global warming and climate change, and joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is a major part of that effort. Cutting our greenhouse gas pollution is the right thing to do for the long-term health of our citizens, the health of our environment and our economy," Lynch said after the vote.
The bill adds New Hampshire to the other New England states, New York, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland in a market-based, "cap and trade" program to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the region's power plants.
The governors of the 10 states have signed a memorandum of understanding agreeing to the initiative. It is a regional plan, but each state must adopt its own laws and regulations. States in other regions are considering similar plans.
Under RGGI, a regional carbon dioxide emissions cap would be put in place for large fossil fuel-fired power plants beginning in 2009. Allowances would be issued equal to the total cap and apportioned to the participating states. Utilities would have to buy enough allowances within three years to cover their emissions. Since the number of allowances is limited by the regional cap, overall emissions are expected to be reduced.
New Hampshire's cap would be 8.6 million tons per year out of 188 million tons emitted by the 10 states. Affected power plants in New Hampshire would be: Schiller Station in Portsmouth, Newington Station in Newington, Merrimack Station in Bow, Granite Ridge in Londonderry and Newington Energy LLC in Newington.
Other types of allowances also are part of the plan. For example, capturing methane gas at a landfill also reduces carbon emissions. Also under consideration is using forestry management to reduce carbon emissions through techniques as simple as planting trees.
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