None The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire Press Releases Search All Press Releases Eric Aldrich 603-224-5853, ext. 26 E-mail: ealdrich@tnc.org

Nature Conservancy Applauds N.H. House for Passing Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative

Program puts region in lead of combating climate-change emissions.

CONCORD, N.H.  — March 19, 2008 — The Nature Conservancy today applauds the N.H. House of Representatives for passing legislation aimed at making significant steps toward curbing greenhouse gas-causing emissions.

“We are gratified to see that the House of Representatives has approved HB 1434, setting the details and structure for New Hampshire’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative,” said Joel Harrington, director of government relations for The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire. “This program puts 10 Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states in the lead of innovative and workable efforts to curtail carbon dioxide emissions from utilities, one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gases.”

Deserving particular praise, Harrington said, are the bill’s sponsors: Reps. Naida Kaen, Suzanne Harvey, Richard Barry, and Sens. Margaret Hassan, Martha Fuller Clark, Bob Odell, and Sylvia Larsen.

The House passed the bill 214-107.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is an agreement of ten Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States to establish a flexible, market-based “cap and trade” program to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from the region’s power plants with little or no cost to electricity consumers.  The governors of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont have signed agreements to participate in the initiative.

RGGI places caps on carbon dioxide emissions from electric generation facilities and allows trading of emission-reduction allowances to meet those caps. By turning emission reductions into a marketable asset, RGGI creates incentives for companies to invest in emission reduction technologies and gives businesses the flexibility to meet reduction goals at the lowest costs.  In fact, this new regional climate accord would improve energy efficiency and could save the typical residential customer about $50 per year, according to analysis sponsored by nine Northeast states.

RGGI and other measures to curb climate change are among the top priorities of The Nature Conservancy. Climate change will alter landscapes and seascapes as we know them. The Conservancy is analyzing the impacts of global warming on plants, animals and natural communities and seeking and developing innovative conservation solutions that will enable natural areas to cope with and adapt to the effects of climate change.

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The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people.  To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 14 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 83 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Since 1961 The Nature Conservancy in New Hampshire has helped protect more than 265,000 acres of ecologically significant land and currently owns and manages 28 preserves across the state. For more information, visitwww.nature.org/newhampshire