MAINE PUBLIC • July 29, 2020
A regional plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants also made the northeast healthier, by reducing air pollutants like mercury and sulfur dioxide. But a new study focused on children found the benefits were even greater than previously thought, preventing hundreds of childhood illnesses and saving an additional hundreds of millions of dollars. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative – or RGGI – was the first regional cap-and-trade plan of its kind in the country. It started up in 2009, and now involves nine states.