Two heads are better than one, so what about 11? We’ll soon find out after governors of 11 North-East and Mid-Atlantic States signed a Memorandum of Understanding committing them to continued participation in a regional effort to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles and other uses.
A Low Carbon Fuel Standard programme is being considered by the States which could be applied to the transportation sector and to fuels used for heating buildings. It has the potential to reduce transportation related greenhouse gas emissions as well as reduce regional vulnerability to petrol price volatility.
If adopted, the Low Carbon Fuel Standard would require regional fuel suppliers to show that the average carbon content of the fuel they deliver is reduced over time. A credit trading system would be introduced and rather than imposing restrictions on specific fuel types, fuel providers would be able to choose between different fuels based on their cost effectiveness and environmental impact in order to meet the carbon intensity reduction targets. The policy will look at fuel industry flexibility and how new infrastructure can be introduced, such as for the use of electric vehicles.
The agreement between the states was sparked in June 2008 when Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick sent a letter to governors of all 10 member states of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative inviting them to work together on a Low Carbon Fuel Standard for the entire region. The Commonwealth’s Clean Energy Biofuels Act signed in July 2008 also required the states to work together to implement the Standard on a regional basis.
Now this Memorandum of Understanding between the Governors from Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont establishes a process to develop the standard and look at its potential economic impact. They have committed to include strong business, energy and environmental stakeholders and to work together to analyse low carbon fuel supply options with a range of goals including a 10 per cent reduction in carbon intensity of fuels.
