O’Malley knocks New Jersey’s Christie on greenhouse gas decision

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R). (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)The latest flare-up in an ongoing feud between Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) and his Republican counterpart in New Jersey came Thursday as Gov. Chris Christie announced his state was pulling out of a regional greenhouse gas compact.

Christie branded the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative “gimmicky” and “ineffective,” saying New Jersey would stop participating in the cap-and-trade agreement between 10 northeast states by the end of the year.

Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley (D). (AP Photo/Gail Burton)“I am disappointed in Governor Christie’s decision to withdraw from RGGI, and I reject his assertion that the initiative is ineffective in reducing greenhouse gases,” O’Malley said in a statement. “RGGI represents an important multi-state effort to address climate change at a time when consensus eludes Congress. ... Governor Christie is simply wrong when he claims that these efforts are a failure.”

O’Malley’s statement was issued by his office in Annapolis.

As chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, O’Malley has taken plenty of shots in recent months at Christie, a rising star among Republicans, and the New Jersey governor has responded in kind.

Speaking at a Democratic dinner last month in New Jersey, O’Malley accused Christie of having “tap-danced across the national media stage” to the delight of “enthusiastic FDR-haters.”

Christie had previously accused O’Malley of “spewing pabulum” and criticizing him to get his name in The New York Times.

The goal of the regional greenhouse gas initiative is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from power plants across states from Maine to Maryland by 10 percent in the next seven years.

The pact requires power plants to buy credits to cover the carbon they emit. The money from the sale of the “cap and trade” credits is used for renewable energy initiatives.