Former Connecticut DEP Chief lauds Cap & Trade (was a Republican appointee)

[NewJeffCT]

She is now working in the Obama administration, but she was originally appointed to her state-level position by Republican governor Jodi Rell...

Former Connecticut DEP Chief Says State's Emission Auction Works
By KENNETH R. GOSSELIN
October 15, 2009

On her first public visit to Connecticut since joining the Obama administration as a top air pollution official, Gina McCarthy declared a year-old program to reduce greenhouse gases a success, raising millions for energy efficiency projects in the state.

McCarthy, the former state Department of Environmental Protection commissioner, said auctions of carbon emission allowances — designed to curb emissions scientists say are contributing to global warming — are not raising energy costs, as some had feared.

"It has generated millions of dollars that the state has invested primarily in energy efficiency projects, and those have achieved significant greenhouse gas reductions as well as traditional pollutants," McCarthy said after a speech in Cromwell at an energy conference sponsored by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association.

McCarthy now serves as assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-mccarthy1015.artoct15,0,3297819.story