Letter: RGGI Will Drive Businesses Out of the Garden State

To the Editor:

The New Jersey State Legislature is currently considering a bill that would re-enter our state into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). If it passes, the result would be more businesses leaving the Garden State in droves causing severe economic harm. It’s a proposal that must be defeated if New Jersey businesses and families are to succeed in today’s economic climate.

The program, though touted as environmental legislation, does little to protect our natural resources. New Jersey’s participation would establish a CO₂ budget trading program, which would serve as an auction for carbon emission credits. Over time, as with all supply-and-demand systems, the available carbon allowances are reduced in such a way as to drive prices astronomically high, forcing energy companies to either increase consumer fees, cut costs in workforce and investment, or both. The money from these auctions will then be given to so-called “green energy” companies, for the purpose of developing alternative sources of energy. Of course, we’ve already seen the government track record on those investments; Solyndra, Evergreen and SpectraWatt just to name a few of the notable failures.

Beyond the disastrous economic impact, at a time when we are starting to see recovery, there’s an irony surrounding the RGGI program making it effectively obsolete from an environmental standpoint. The stated goal of the initiative is a 10% reduction in greenhouse gases within participating states by 2018. However, over the past few years, a combination of market forces and cooler summers have reduced emissions in RGGI states by 30%, a number three times greater, and a time-span six years sooner, than their stated goal. Nevertheless, the political forces behind RGGI have not simply declared victory, as you would expect if environmental protection was truly their desired outcome. This effort is nothing more than a brazen attempt to shut down the American coal industry while continuing the corporatism of green energy companies, who are now dependent on government money in their futile attempt to compete in the private market.

RGGI also comes with a hefty price tag for all of us. A recent study showed that consumer energy prices rose in RGGI states, at a time that people could ill-afford them. The end result is that New Jersey’s economy would be impacted far more than other RGGI states, placing us at a competitive disadvantage over our neighbors in the attraction and retention of strong businesses and high-quality jobs. For example, Ocean Spray announced in 2011 – 21 days before Gov. Christie removed New Jersey from RGGI – they were moving their operations to Pennsylvania, stating that New Jersey was simply “too expensive."

We have been down this road once before, and Gov. Christie wisely put us on a better path toward economic development and market fairness. It would be good for New Jersey if we could stay there.

Bill Spadea

Princeton Township