Interview: Richard Cowart on RGGI

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Greenhouse gases are on the auction block today, as Vermont and nine other northeastern states hold the nation’s first-ever sale of pollution credits.

The 3-hour auction is being run online today. It’s called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, for short, and its aim is to curb emissions that contribute to global warming.

RGGI is a cap and trade program. It puts a limit on the amount of carbon dioxide that power plants within the 10-state region can emit. Plants have to pay for allowances covering the count of carbon dioxide over the cap that they do emit.

The auction today will allow plants to buy, sell, and trade emissions allowances.

We’re finding out more about RGGI from Richard Cowart. He was one of the creators of the program and former chairman of the Public Service Board.

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