Environmental Advocates Applaud Northeast’s Initiative to Promote Low Carbon Fuels: Urge Swift Action to Launch Regional Program

CONTACT: Sue Reid, Conservation Law Foundation, 617-850-1740
Christopher Phelps, Environment Connecticut, 860-231-8842
Jeremy McDiarmid, ENE (Environment Northeast), 617-742-0054 x102
Nathanael Greene, Natural Resources Defense Council, 212-254-0160
Jan Jarrett, PennFuture, 717-214-7920

BOSTON, MA (October 22, 2009) The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF), ENE (Environment Northeast), Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), PennFuture and the Northeast members of the Environment America Federation joined together today in voicing support for the leadership of eleven northeastern and mid-Atlantic states that are working to adopt a regional Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). An LCFS is a market-based, technology-neutral policy requiring reductions in the carbon content of fuel. Once adopted by the states, an LCFS will promote a regional market for cleaner alternative fuels – delivering benefits ranging from reduced greenhouse gas emissions to local economic development and technological innovation.

“A Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Low Carbon Fuel Standard is a smart policy for addressing the urgent dual imperatives of energy independence and global warming,” said ENE staff attorney Jeremy McDiarmid. “It will spur development of a variety of cleaner, home-grown alternative fuels, while discouraging investment in environmentally devastating new high carbon fuels made from tar sands, oil shale and liquid coal.”

The environmental advocates applauded the Governors of the eleven Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States for their leadership and continued commitment to design and launch the Northeast LCFS.

“Our region previously demonstrated its collective climate leadership by working together to address global warming pollution from power plants,” noted Nathanael Greene, Director of Renewable Energy Policy for NRDC, referring to the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that was adopted by ten of the states. “The states are now well-positioned to address other key sources of global warming pollution, especially transportation fuels.”

In a Letter of Intent dated December 31, 2008, the environmental commissioners of Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont committed to develop the framework for a regional LCFS. These states have been working with the Northeast States for Coordinate Air Use Management (NESCAUM) to develop a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the basic structure of the LCFS program by the end of 2009.

“We applaud the leadership of Northeast and Mid-Atlantic officials for moving forward with this proposal which will reduce our oil dependence and reduce our impact on the environment,” said Christopher Phelps, Program Director for Environment Connecticut. “A low carbon fuel standard is one of several critical tools we must use to ensure that we reduce global warming emissions while weaning ourselves off oil” he continued, joining with the other advocates in calling for an agreement on the framework for the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic LCFS program to be signed among the states by December 31.

At an October 22 stakeholder meeting in Boston, environmental organizations highlighted the importance of the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic LCFS for addressing greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector.

“Transportation is the fastest growing sector of greenhouse gas emissions, and we need to act swiftly to reverse the curve. This will require the development of new markets for cleaner transportation fuels at the same time we embrace policies to promote more efficient vehicles and better public transportation options,” said Jan Ameen, President and CEO of PennFuture.

“The regional LCFS also presents a terrific opportunity to ‘get biofuels right’ by taking into account all direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring that biofuels production does not lead to significant collateral damage to our forests and other ecosystems,” said CLF Senior Attorney Sue Reid. “A well-designed LCFS can and should encourage investment in the types of fuels that are truly sustainable over the long term.”

More than forty environmental, clean energy and business stakeholders expressed their support for the initiative in an October 14, 2009 letter that was delivered to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Governors last week and publicly introduced at today’s stakeholder meeting.

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The Conservation Law Foundation (www.clf.org) works to solve the most significant environmental challenges facing New England.  CLF’s advocates the use of law, economics and science to create innovate strategies to conserve natural resources, protect public health and promote vital communities in our region.  Founded, in 1966, CLF is a nonprofit, member-supported organization with offices in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont.