BOSTON -- New York, Massachusetts and nine other Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states have agreed to create a low carbon fuel standard to reduce greenhouse gases.

Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Ian Bowles on Monday said the states will come up with a single standard that would apply to the entire region, creating a larger market for cleaner fuels and the development of clean energy technologies.

Low carbon fuel standards require reductions in the average greenhouse gas emissions per unit of energy. They can apply to fuel used for transportation and for home heating.

Fuels that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions include electricity and biofuels.

The other states that are part of the initiative are Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont.