WASHINGTON, DC – June 25, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06), Ranking Member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, voted against and decried the so called “Ratepayer Protection Act.” The legislation would effectively gut the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan by allowing states to opt out of state or federal carbon emissions plans.
Pallone also offered an amendment to the bill requiring Governors to confirm their belief in human-induced climate change in order to opt out of the plan. Specifically, the amendment would require Governors who want to opt out of the plan to first certify that the State or Federal plan would “promote national security, economic growth and public health by addressing human induced climate change through the increased use of clean energy, energy efficiency and reductions in carbon pollution.” This amendment was previously approved by the Senate with Republican support.
“This poorly conceived bill is part of the Republicans’ ‘Just Say No’ attitude towards any effort to address climate change and their ongoing attack on clean air and the EPA,” said Congressman Pallone. “One of the worst elements is that it allows governors to simply refuse to comply with the law despite the will of their state’s legislature. In New Jersey, we have seen first-hand the detrimental impacts Governor Christie’s decision to leave a program that would help reduce carbon pollution, support economic development, and help the state comply with the Clean Power Plan.”
The Clean Power Plan establishes emission guidelines for states to follow in developing plans to control carbon pollution from existing power plants. These plants are the largest source of carbon pollution in the United States, and currently they can emit unlimited quantities of carbon pollution. The Clean Power Plan is expected to be finalized this summer, and will help cut carbon pollution from the power sector by 30% in 2030. However, the bill indefinitely delays implementation of the plan and allows governors to unilaterally opt out of compliance with the plan.
When the bill was considered in committee, Pallone offered an amendment to require a state’s decision to opt out of the Clean Power Plan be approved by the state’s full legislature, rather than a unilateral decision by the state’s governor. The Clean Power Plan will be the first federal requirement to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. If complied with, through a program like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), it can have significant and positive economic and environmental impacts. From Maine to Maryland, nine states currently participate in RGGI in an effort to reduce carbon emissions. Unfortunately, Governor Chris Christie has withdrawn New Jersey from participation in the program.
New Jersey has been negatively impacted by Governor Chris Christie’s decision to withdraw from RGGI. By creating an incentive for power plants to reduce carbon pollution, RGGI would help New Jersey comply with the Clean Power Plan. In addition, through RGGI, allowance auctions would support investment in clean energy programs that benefit consumers and the state economy. Since Governor Christie’s decision to withdraw from RRGI in 2012, New Jersey has forgone an estimated $130 million in RGGI auction proceeds, and the state could miss out on an additional $359 million through 2020.
Over the next decade, RGGI is expected to generate $8.7 billion in economic growth in the nine states which currently participate.
The full New Jersey Legislature, which voted on New Jersey’s entry into the RGGI program, has voted twice to put New Jersey back into the power plant carbon reduction agreement. Both times Governor Christie vetoed the legislation. Now, the New Jersey State Senate has voted to override the regulations the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) promulgated last July to formally withdraw New Jersey from the regulations governing the RGGI program, and action is pending for a full Assembly vote.
