How will RGGI work?
Successful Cap and Trade programs already exist in the US to control emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) responsible for acid rain and nitrogen oxides (NO x ) responsible for smog. The design of RGGI, like these programs and any other cap-and-trade program, includes the following basic components: First, the states jointly determined the CO 2 emissions sources to be covered by RGGI. These emissions sources are referred to as RGGI Regulated Power Plants; Second, the states jointly established the cap or total amount of CO 2 emissions to be allowed from all of the RGGI Regulated Power Plants in the RGGI region, commonly referred to as the emissions cap; Third, based on extensive calculations the states agreed on how many tons of CO 2 or how many allowances each state will be entitled to, referred to as the state cap or state allocation; and Fourth, each state will now decide what methodology to use to make allowances available to the RGGI Regulated Power Plants in its state. RGGI complia
