Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI, or ReGGIe) is a regional initiative by states and provinces in the Northeastern United States and Eastern Canada regions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The RGGI is designing a cap and trade program for greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. RGGI is a cooperative effort among nine Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic States to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the electric power sector through coordinated state cap and trade programs. Nine states currently participate in the initiative: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Several states and Canadian provinces act as observers: Pennsylvania, Québec, New Brunswick, and Ontario.New Jersey formerly participated, but Gov. Chris Christie removed the state from RGGI in 2011.

RGGI is a cap-and-trade system for CO₂ emissions from power plants in the member states. Emission permit auctioning began in September 2008, and the first three-year compliance period began on January 1, 2009. Proceeds are used to promote energy conservation and renewable energy, although as of 2010 three states had used some of the money to balance the overall budget.