Organizers Call Regional Emissions Plan A Success

VICTOR EPSTEIN

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — Organizers and participants in the nation's only working cap-and-trade program for carbon emissions called the fledgling attempt to reduce greenhouse gas emissions a success Wednesday.

Jeanne Fox, the head of New Jersey's Board of Public Utilities, said she hopes the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative will soon fall victim to its own success.

The original idea was to serve as a national model for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions many scientists blame for global warming, she said, noting that the U.S. House now is considering legislation to create a similar national program.

"It's working," said Fox, a member of the initiative's board of directors. "We've succeeded in creating a program that shows cap-and-trade can work nationwide. It's a model for what they can do in Washington."

The 10-state initiative is preparing to hold its fourth auction of carbon credits June 17 for more than 200 power plants that rely on fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas. The first auction was Sept. 25. Regional groups now are exploring similar initiatives in the Midwest and West.