Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

To reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, the RGGI Participating States use a market-based cap-and-trade approach that includes:

• A multi-state CO₂ emissions budget ("cap") that will decrease gradually until it is 10 percent lower than at the start
• Requirements for fossil fuel-fired electric power generators with a capacity of 25 megawatts (MW) or greater ("regulated sources") to hold allowances equal to their CO₂ emissions over a three-year control period
• Allocating CO₂ allowances through quarterly, regional CO₂ allowance auctions.
• Investing proceeds from the CO₂ allowance auctions in consumer benefit programs to improve energy efficiency and accelerate the deployment of renewable energy technologies
• Allowing offsets (greenhouse gas emissions reduction or carbon sequestration projects outside the electricity sector) to help companies meet their compliance obligations
• An emissions and allowance tracking system to record and track RGGI market and program data, including CO₂ emissions from regulated power plants and CO₂ allowance transactions among market participants