New York Joins 11-state Effort to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Fuels

• by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

ALBANY, NY (01/06/2009)(readMedia)-- New York and 10 other Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states will cooperate to develop a regional "Low Carbon Fuel Standard" to reduce the carbon concentration in fuels used in vehicles and buildings, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and New York State Energy and Research Development Authority (NYSERDA) officials announced today. The 11 states - the 10 members of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) plus Pennsylvania - will work together to create an emissions-performance standard that will eventually provide incentives for energy providers to use low-carbon fuel - which will result in the use of fewer greenhouse gases and aid in the fight against global warming.

"Climate change is the issue of our time and once again states are leading the way in the absence of federal action," said DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis. "By taking steps to reduce the amount of carbon in fuels, we can lay the groundwork for progress in the fight against global warming. The success of RGGI shows these states can work together to make change happen."

"A regionally-based Low-Carbon Fuels Standard will help build momentum in creating the next generation of fuels that will help address the crisis of global climate change," said Robert Callender, vice president for programs at NYSERDA. "The successful implementation of RGGI proves that states working collaboratively can establish policies that have a positive impact on both the economy and the environment."

Last week, officials from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont signed a statement to jointly tackle the challenge of reducing greenhouse gases from fuels. Over the past six months, the states have begun to examine how a low-carbon fuel standard could be implemented regionally, creating a larger market for cleaner fuels, reducing emissions associated with climate change and supporting development of clean energy technologies.

The Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) initiative envisions the creation of a market-based, technologically neutral policy to address the carbon content of fuels. In addition to covering vehicle fuels, a low-carbon standard potentially could apply to fuel used for indoor heating, industrial processes and electricity generation. In the transportation sector, such a standard could potentially encourage the use of electric-powered vehicles and biofuels that have a lower-carbon footprint than traditional fuels, based on a full life cycle analysis. The effort will discourage the use of biofuels that are likely to cause negative impacts such as crop diversion and land-use changes.

The joint statement notes that the interconnected nature of fuel distribution in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions favors a regional approach to a LCFS. The LCFS effort is also a natural outgrowth of RGGI, a groundbreaking program that covers carbon dioxide emissions from electric power plants. The 10 RGGI states already have enacted regulations that cap CO2 emissions in the power sector and held two auctions of pollution allowances in 2008 as part of the first market-based, mandatory cap-and-trade program in the U.S.

The 11 states will collaborate with the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), which is conducting a study of a LCFS for the region. The states also agree to work cooperatively with other states and the federal government, and to seek to influence the design of any federal LCFS or other proposed fuels policy.