Connecticut, along with eight other states participating in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), recently announced a series of steps to strengthen the program.

The measures are designed to further reduce carbon emissions from power plants and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

RGGI states proposed a regional cap trajectory that will provide an additional 30 percent cap reduction by the year 2030, relative to 2020 levels. The states have already significantly reduced power sector carbon emissions, cutting them almost in half. The proposed new 2030 cap will be more than 65 percent lower than RGGI’s 2009 starting cap.

“This commitment by all nine RGGI states will ensure a strong future for the program while continuing to demonstrate that states can successfully reduce carbon pollution while supporting economic growth and grid resiliency,” Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Commissioner Robert Klee said in a statement. “Connecticut’s participation in RGGI has helped reduce power sector emissions in the state by 32 percent, putting the state on a solid path to meet its Global Warming Solutions Act to reduce emissions 10 percent below 1990 levels by 2020 and 80 percent below 2001 levels by 2050.”