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Experts to Grapple With Carbon Cap at NY Global Warming Conference
Experts to Grapple With Carbon Cap at NY Global Warming Conference
Published 05-26-05
Submitted by Clean Air Cool Planet
The high-level discussion of the plan will be part of Global Warming Solutions 2005, June 8 and 9 at the Roosevelt Hotel in Manhattan, organized by Clean Air - Cool Planet (CA-CP).
Referred to as Reggie, the complex plan now under discussion by states' representatives, power companies, large electric consumers and environmental organizations would place a cap on emissions of carbon dioxide from power plants in several states from Maine to Delaware. It resulted from a proposal two years ago by New York Governor George Pataki.
A draft plan for what is likely to be a cap-and-trade system that will lie at the heart of the initiative, allowing power generators to trade carbon credits to meet the cap, is expected some time this summer. Among the contentious issues currently under discussion are the type and level of the cap, the time period for phase in, the nature of the trading program, "leakage" (the shift of dirty power production to other parts of the country that are unregulated), and whether more solutions should be sought from efficiency, trimming demand, or constraint on the supply side.
"How this regional regulation of carbon evolves, what it entails, and how it works in practice is going to make all the difference for how we solve the climate change problem this country faces," said Adam Markham, executive director of CA-CP. "RGGI is moving forward, the positive momentum for a regional system that could foreshadow national action is there, but as always, the devil is in the details. It's no exaggeration to say that people, not just in the US, but around the world - are anxiously waiting for a clear sense of how this agreement is going to shake out.
"In New York, we'll provide an up-to-the-minute snapshot of where the debate lies," Markham said, noting a conference plenary on the initiative has a panel comprising six key figures in energy policy, moderated by Michael J. Bradley, former director of Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), president of M.J. Bradley and Associates, and an expert in energy and air quality issues.
The panel includes: Denise Sheehan, New York's acting environmental commissioner; David Manning, executive VP of Keyspan; Susan Tierney, managing principal at the Analysis Group; Dale Bryk, senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council; Helen Sahi, senior vice president for sustainability programs at Bank of America; and Derek Murrow, director of policy analysis for Environment Northeast.
"The outcome of deliberations on RGGI will shape the economic future of the Northeast region and, most likely, the direction of action to reduce the threat of global warming across the country," Markham said. "We expect that outcomes from this conference will reverberate to state capitals throughout the U. S."
