Maryland and five other states launched a pioneering effort to combat climate change yesterday by auctioning off rights for power plants to release Earth-warming carbon dioxide into the air.
How much Maryland and the other states got for their pollution credits won't be announced until Monday, but the proceeds will be used for energy efficiency programs and other efforts designed to offset any resulting increase in rates - and, proponents argue, eventually reduce consumer bills.
The three-hour auction, kicked off by bell-ringing at the New York Mercantile Exchange, was the first of six rounds of bidding planned through next year.
It is part of a process in which Maryland and other states in the Northeast and MidAtlantic regions move to cap and ultimately reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, the gas that scientists say is largely responsible for warming the planet.
Maryland Environment Secretary Shari T. Wilson, on hand for the opening bell, called it "a landmark day" because the states are the first in the country to begin regulating so-called greenhouse gases.
"It's really an extraordinary effort when you think about states collaborating on something like this," Wilson said. She said that because the federal government to date has not regulated greenhouse gases, states are moving to take action on their own.
A report by the world's top climate scientists concluded last year that global warming is already happening and human activity "very likely" contributes to it.
If warming continues unabated, it would bring higher average temperatures and a steady rise in sea levels in decades to come, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said.
The auction, in which 10 states ultimately will participate, is part of a pollution-control policy known as "cap-and-trade." The states have placed a ceiling, or cap, on how much pollution can be released and have begun selling off allowances or rights to emit that much.
Utilities are expected to seek ways to reduce their emissions, in order to hold down costs. Meanwhile, revenue from the auctions is to be invested in programs to help consumers use less electricity.
The states' moves could be a model for federal action to reduce the nation's climate-warming emissions. Both major presidential candidates have endorsed the cap-and-trade approach.
