In a press conference moments ago in Trenton, Gov. Christie announced his support for repealing the state’s cap-and-trade law and withdrawing from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a 10-state regional compact in the Northeast that implements a cap-and-trade energy tax scheme from Maine to Maryland.
“It’s a failure,” Christie said today. “RGGI has not changed behavior and it does not reduce emissions.”
He is absolutely right, and the implications are huge – especially considering that the architect of RGGI was Lisa Jackson, who once was New Jersey’s director of the Department of Environmental Protection under Gov. Jon Corzine, and is currently Obama’s administrator at the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Jackson is now conspiring with Obama to disregard Congress, the American people, and the last national election to implement cap-and-trade like policies through a regulatory back door.
With Christie’s fabulous leadership, New Jersey will be out of RGGI by the end of the year, punching a huge hole in the middle of the regional scheme, lending momentum to burgeoning repel efforts in New Hampshire, Maine, and New York, and leading, perhaps, the final and total end of cap-and-trade as a politically viable concept anywhere in the United States.
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BradProp1 says:
May 26, 2011 at 7:37 pm
He’s right to end it, but he’s still stupid enough to listen to the 90% (all 73) scientists that say man is causing global warming. I just decided based on that info that I hope he doesn’t run for president.
He made the decision to drop out last year. But the NEA fight was lot more important. the 90% number is just pure baloney. he talked to a a few Profs at Rutgers Engg to get a cover. he got it. they said CAGW is both natural and anthropogenic. That was enough for him to give the “drop-out of RGGI” speech. as for off-shore wind there is no money, unless they decrease the SREC payments…. so, one wasted boondoggle into another.
living in New jersey we are used being treated like turds that we are.
Ric Werme says:
May 26, 2011 at 7:22 pm
Ric,
My guess is that the dems are fully expecting the assembly and senate to start a new bill to rejoin RGGI, so the GOP will be forced to take a position and Christie will VETO. They need it for the nov. 2011 assembly/senate election. as for the taxes and costs…. NJ state govt does not give too hoots.
Ric Werme says:
May 26, 2011 at 6:48 pm
Notes from the press conference [personal comments are in square brackets]:
=======
Thanks Ric,
Banning coal and building wind farms bugs me but generally positive news. I hope Gov. Brown can be a level headed about the situation.
Here’s CATO’s take on “Green” energy — about 15 minutes in length but [IMO] worth the time:
Mr Lynn says:
Maybe Sarah Palin will have the guts to stand up to the High Priesthood of Climate Change. Somebody has to.
I disagree. What is needed is to lead the ‘green’ charge full bore off the inevitable cliff.
On this, as in much of a political nature (as this debate has become), I think that any ‘gains’ we make now are merely temporary, and will be reversed once again over time. The only real hope I see for any lasting sanity is to follow the path through total breakdown first. Otherwise, we’re back where we were after the next election cycle.
Painful, yes. But unfortunately necessary.
So, he’s pulling out of RGGI because the price of $2 per ton “is not enough to change behavior”. Taken with everything else he said, how does a skeptic see this as a victory?
nandheeswaran jothi says:
May 27, 2011 at 9:22 am
That appears to be the case. http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2011/05/27/chris-christie-defers-to-the-experts-on-climate-change/ says “Yesterday, he announced that he has changed his position. I’m not sure what science has been done in the last 6 months to convince Governor Christie to make this change. As far as I know, the science today is exactly the same as the science then. Regardless, Christie recently met with two expert scientists, Ken Miller, a geologist with long experience documenting sea level changes, and atmospheric science Anthony Broccoli, both from Rutgers University. I guess all politics (and now science) is local. After holding these meetings, the Governor has apparently seen the light and has decided to defer to the experts on this controversial issue.”
Miller’s experience with sea level change appears to be primarily on geologic timescales. I read through a presentation of his and it sure doesn’t cover the topic like Nils-Axel Moerner does.
At least you’re compostable! Us flinty New Englanders come back as new rocks in the pasture.
RGGI Inc seems to feel the need to assure folks about the June auction going ahead as planned. They also rarely miss the opportunity to mention the cumulative amount of money they distribute to the states (which is slightly less than the amount of money they take from power plants):
STATEMENT FROM THE PARTICIPATING STATES OF THE REGIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS INITIATIVE ON THE ANNOUNCEMENT FROM NEW JERSEY GOVERNOR CHRISTIE
May 26, 2011 — In response to today’s announcement by Governor Christie that New Jersey will pull out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the RGGI participating states confirm that RGGI CO2 Allowance Auction 12 will be held as scheduled on Wednesday, June 8, 2011.
RGGI, a collaborative effort of ten states, is delivering more than 700 million dollars in investments in the clean energy economy that are saving energy consumers money, making businesses more competitive and creating jobs throughout the region. With each state exercising its independent authority to achieve low-cost greenhouse gas emissions reductions, the RGGI market-based program has widespread support across the region and will continue.
Based on information provided by the state of New Jersey, the participating states will evaluate how New Jersey’s proposed withdrawal might affect New Jersey allowances currently in circulation.
RGGI participating states will publish any amendments to the Auction Notice for RGGI CO2 Allowance Auction 12 no later than 5PM on Tuesday, May 31, 2011 at http://www.rggi.org.
###
==============================================
About Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc.
Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, Inc. (RGGI, Inc.) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization created to provide technical and administrative services to the states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. For more information please visit: http://www.rggi.org/rggi.
Don’t worry – Australia is going to save the world all by ourselves – we will institute a, – wait for it – “Carbon Tax” to make up for New Jerseys backsliding…
Report: Regional cap-and-trade program improved state economies
A regional cap-and-trade program established in the Northeast has reduced greenhouse gas emissions, created new jobs and lowered state energy bills, a report released Monday says.
The report comes as prospects for a federal cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gases are all but dead following the failure to pass such a program in the Senate last year. Cap-and-trade opponents argue that such program would impose burdens on the power sector that would result in major economic harm.
But the new report says that a regional cap-and-trade program has resulted in a series of economic benefits for a select group of states.
The report focuses on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a 10-state cap-and-trade program in the Northeast. The report, commissioned by the organization that runs the program, analyzes investments made with money generated from a series of emissions-allowance auctions beginning in 2008.
States invested 80 percent of the $789.2 million generated from the auctions in energy programs, the report finds. Overall, those investments result in significant returns. For every $1 invested, the states saw $3 to $4 in returns.
Maybe some of us should research this further.
Climate depot gives Christie the warmist treatment
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/intersection/2011/05/27/chris-christie-defers-to-the-experts-on-climate-change/
Pretty impressive, jafo. Or it would be if you weren’t linking to a The Hill post which links to … RGGI press releases.
Press releases from a bureaucracy proclaim the success of said bureaucracy. I certainly didn’t see that coming…
Next up: Obama administration press release proves that the stimulus package really did work.
Typo: “burgeoning repel efforts” — I guess repelling C&T is part of the effort, but proximately “repeal efforts” are the issue. 😉
As the new Sen. Brown is demonstrating, NE elects really mushy conservatives. It may be political necessity and expedience for them to continue to cater to Never-Neverland fantasizing, but it makes it real dangerous to give them more than limited short-term regional mandates.
________
As for NJ, in an immense irony there’s a wee (Fed. gov’t-disregarded) project there that may yank the economic rug out from under every renewables scheme on the planet. In about 5 yrs, maybe sooner.
On the merest shoestring (~$2 M over 2 yrs) a little firm called Lawrenceville Plasma Physics has been consistently generating results that exceed those of the best efforts of any and all other (known, public) fusion programmes in the world. And they’d be far further along if they’d had adequate staffing and equipment resources.
Current timelines will, it seems and I fervently hope, result in a viable licensable design for a mini generator (5MW) with a capital cost of about 5-10¢/KW, and a cost of production of about 0.3¢/kwh. (The output might rise to ~20-25 MW given adequate future engineering advances in cooling, which would slash those costs even deeper.) The size limitation (fully housed in a structure about the size of a home garage) is inherent in the design; scaling up would involve clustering or ganging them.
But it would/will suck the economic life out of all the fantasy technologies; it goes them much more than one better on all counts. It’s not even a radiation source; non-neutronic (‘aneutronic’) and hence no irradiated equipment etc. to cope with, and no waste other than stable neutral Helium-4.
Over time, even coal, fission, hydro, etc. would be economic roadkill. It would/will change everything.
LPP.com
Here’s hoping! All my fingers and toes are crossed. 🙂
Christie won’t run against Obama because it would be uphill,
The man from Chicago ne (Hawaii) is beatable. It’s the economy,…..
On the merest shoestring (~$2 M over 2 yrs) a little firm called Lawrenceville Plasma Physics has been consistently generating results that exceed those of the best efforts of any and all other (known, public) fusion programmes in the world.
True that. Last I heard they were up to 100 milliW and electrode erosion was a serious problem. Only 7 or 8 orders of magnitude to go before we get commercial levels of power from the device. Almost there.
Would breaking out the champagne be premature?