PROVIDENCE — Environmental groups are putting pressure on the 10 states, including Rhode Island, to update the regional cap-and-invest compact that charges power plants for every ton of emissions they spew into the atmosphere.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) has a set regional budget for CO2 among its member states, which include all of New England, New York, and New Jersey, since 1996. Power plants in participating states pay the program to emit carbon dioxide, money that in turn is divided among the states to use toward green projects.

Rhode Island received $121 million in auction proceeds between 2008 and 2022, and spent just over $75 million of that money in the same time frame, with about $12 million allocated in 2022 alone. Another $45.8 million has been allocated toward future programs, as of the latest RGGI investment report.

But advocates say the latest update to the program, its third since it began, is taking far longer than expected. RGGI solicited public feedback virtually last year and was expected to make some kind of determination about its program revisions at the start of this year.

“We haven’t heard anything come out of their program review,” said Paola Tamayo, a policy analyst at the Acadia Center. “We were promised something in January, but it’s been six, seven, eight months now and there’s a lot of uncertainty with what’s happening. There’s a fear that they’re going to come out with a half-baked final product, with no room for input.”

The first program review took around two years, from 2012 to 2014. The second review lasted around a year, from 2016 to 2017. The third and current review process has been ongoing for almost three and a half years, kicking off originally at the beginning of 2021.

The Acadia Center sent letters to each member state asking for a new timeline on the program revisions, and repeating some long-sought-after updates. Advocates are asking the participating RGGI states to adopt a common definition of environmental justice; set a specific percentage of funds from RGGI auction proceeds; increase the availability of air monitoring around power plants close to frontline communities; and tie the programs allowances to the state’s ambitious climate goals, which have already outstripped RGGI’s original design.

Key among their demands is updating the emissions cap. According to modeling performed by the Environmental Defense Fund, leaving the emission caps at their current levels could result in an additional 19-35 metric tons of emissions. Moving toward a stronger emissions cap that requires power plants to reach net zero would align with the state’s individual goals, such as the benchmarks found in Rhode Island’s Act on Climate law.

“RGGI hasn’t been historically popular with environmental justice communities because there hasn’t been anything specific for environmental justice,” Tamayo said. “We want RGGI to succeed, and we want RGGI to bring change, and the way to do it is by ensuring there’s some level of protection or commitment for those communities.”

Four times a year, RGGI holds auctions for CO2 allowances, and those proceeds are then distributed among the states based on their emission contribution. In Rhode Island, it only applies to five power plants: the Manchester Street Power Station, the Rhode Island State Energy Center, Ocean State Power, Pawtucket Power, and Tiverton Power.

How each member state spends its proceeds is typically up to the individual state. In the past, Rhode Island has used its share of RGGI proceeds to pay for the Lead by Example energy-efficiency program; help municipalities upgrade local streetlights to energy-saving LEDs; pay for the Department of Environmental Management’s energy-savings tree program; and provide bill credits and energy savings to low- and moderate-income ratepayers, among other projects. As of last year the state started using a portion of the proceeds to fund the Executive Climate Change Coordinating Council (EC4).

“The program review continues,” said Evan LaCross, a spokesperson for DEM. “Both director [Terry] Gray and [Office of Energy Resources] acting Commissioner Chris Kearns are actively participating and representing Rhode Island in this process with teams from DEM and OER supporting the effort at the staff level. Both agencies will review and consider the points raised in the letter.”

A spokesperson for RGGI didn’t provide ecoRI News with a timeline on when the program’s review would be complete, indicating that work on the review was still ongoing.

“It’s an important policy,” Tamayo said. “People should really be looking at it and keeping states accountable to give some sort of answer.”