By Kaitlin Gregg (March 26, 2013)

On Feb. 7, 2013, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a regional program to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants in nine Northeastern states, released an updated model rule. The new model rule includes a regional emissions cap of 91 tons of carbon dioxide in 2014, with a 2.5 percent additional reduction in emissions each year from 2014 to 2020. In 2014, the cap will be lower than projected emissions for the first time since the program began in 2008. The new model rule comes at the end of a lengthy process of study. The 2012 Program Review assessed various aspects of the program, including successes and failures of its first five years of operation and possible changes. After the assessment, RGGI staff developed amendments through a consultative process.