TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey is dropping out of the Northeast’s program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Republican Governor Chris Christie announced yesterday, calling the pact a failure at cutting pollution and a burden to taxpayers.
The decision to withdraw from the cap-and-trade program at the end of the year marks a turnaround for New Jersey, a heavily industrialized state that was an early backer of efforts to curb the heat-trapping gases blamed for global warming.
The pact includes Massachusetts, Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont.
