One of the stupider things he’s tried to do — and that’s saying something:
NEW YORK, NY – New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is threatening to throw in the towel on the nation’s first-ever effort to cut climate pollution from power plants. That news is drawing sharp reaction from “green” groups in the tri-state area.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, commonly known as REGGIE, is a cooperative effort by New York, New Jersey and eight other states to reduce carbon emissions. Gov. Christie is threatening to pull the Garden State out of the program by year’s end because he says it doesn’t work. But Jackson Morris, senior policy adviser with the PACE Energy and Climate Center, says there are plenty of people with new jobs and lower utility bills in New York and New Jersey who would beg to differ.
“REGGIE has put a price on carbon and delivered thousands of jobs and saved millions of dollars for energy bills in both states under the program.”
Morris disputes Christie’s claim that the agreement has failed to reduce emissions, but he does agree that work still needs to be done to ensure that carbon caps are set at the most effective levels. He says the feds are already reviewing that aspect of the program.
Dave Gahl, policy director for Environmental Advocates of New York, says what’s happening in New Jersey echoes previous efforts, funded by conservative organizations, to try to get other states to pull out of the ten-state organization.
UPDATE: Hmm, maybe I’m wrong. Sounds like Christie’s at least put some thought into this, and admits that climate change is man-made — which indicates he won’t be running for president.
