PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island will not follow the lead of at least two other states and use money generated by auctions of carbon permits for the Northeast cap-and-trade program to plug a state budget shortfall, the governor’s spokeswoman said Thursday.
The 10 states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) have pledged to cut carbon dioxide by capping their total emissions and forcing polluters to buy permits to cover their output. The auctions’ proceeds are supposed to go toward energy efficiency programs and other efforts to deal with climate change.
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State law prevents Gov. Donald L. Carcieri from shifting RGGI money to fill Rhode Island’s nearly $219 million budget shortfall, Amy Kempe, the governor’s spokeswoman, told Providence Business News.
Instead, the $9.3 million in RGGI proceeds the state has gotten thus far will be held in a restricted account until National Grid gets approval for a proposed program to spend the money on energy efficiency and renewable energy projects, she said.
Elsewhere, the story is different.
New Jersey’s governor said this week he will use move $65 million in RGGI money to the Garden State’s general fund to help cover the deficit, according to Reuters. Last year, New York also used $90 million from RGGI to cover a budget shortfall.
Additional information is available at rggi.org.
