The editorial continues: “Mr. Romney initially indicated he would join the seven states, but has since hesitated. He was conspicuously absent when the other governors recently unveiled the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, the first of its kind in the United States.
“The initiative is hardly revolutionary. It doesn’t go into effect until 2009 and sets a goal of reducing carbon dioxide pollution over the following decade to a level just 10 percent below current emissions. Each state would continue regulating power plants within its boundaries but keep the overall 10 percent cut in mind. Polluting companies would have government incentives to clean up.
“Companies that exceed their goals could sell “excess allowances” at a profit to companies that are unable to meet their goals, similar to a federal acid rain initiative launched during the administration of President George H.W. Bush in the early 1990s.
“Mr. Romney now fears that the regional initiative would result in higher utility costs for consumers. That fear is countered by a study commissioned by the seven states showing that the typical residential consumer would save about $50 every year under the initiative. Moreover, the agreement contains an escape hatch to allow states to opt out in the unlikely event that electricity prices skyrocket as a result of the initiative.
“It’s fair to argue that a national greenhouse gas reduction drive would be far better than the seven-state initiative of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Vermont. But the Northeast plan would be better than no plan. West Coast states are considering a similar initiative. Too bad Massachusetts, under the leadership of its lame-duck governor, will not be among the environmental pioneers.
“Eventually and inevitably, the United States will join the vast majority of nations in fighting global warming.”
bob, thanks for this posting. i can’t believe more hasn’t been made of Romney’s refusal to sign the agreement. as usual the environmental movement is too disorganized to slam Romney on this like he should be.
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to me, it’s outrageous. our state and region will suffer from Romney’s neglect — and most importantly as we all know we’re talking about the health of people breathing the air. and then he has the guts to turn around (after rejecting the agreement) and try to sell us some indudtry-written plan that does nothing for us. thankfully someone is taking him to task for his horrible environmental record.