Clinton Seeks to Regulate Common Gas to Clean Air

 

By MATTHEW L. WALD

New York Times Sunday, November 12, 2000.

 

ASHINGTON, Nov. 11 — President Clinton called today for new federal regulations limiting power plants' emissions of carbon dioxide, a gas thought to cause global climate change, through a system similar to the rules now in place for pollutants that cause smog and acid rain.

It would be the first time that federal regulations specifically controlled emissions of carbon dioxide, the main so-called greenhouse gas. At the same time, Mr. Clinton called for similar controls on emissions of mercury, another pollutant that is given off by some power plants but is not regulated by the air pollution laws.

Any such expansion of pollution rules would probably require action by Congress, where there is significant opposition to the idea. But the administration contends that without this kind of step, a global treaty to reduce the risks of global warming will probably fail.

Mr. Clinton proposed a "cap and trade" system, under which the government would set a national limit on emissions, and divide pollution allowances among the power plants.

Companies could cut their emissions enough to stay within their allowances. Or they could cut even more of their emissions and sell the leftover allowances to other companies that might have cut their emissions less extensively and therefore needed more allowances.

The idea, a market-based approach applied successfully to other forms of air pollution since the early 1990's, is meant to get the desired overall reductions at the least cost.

But many in Congress oppose any unilateral steps by the United States to regulate greenhouse gases, as well as opposing the Kyoto Protocol, a 1997 climate change treaty negotiated in Kyoto, Japan, that the United States has signed but never submitted to the Senate for ratification. The United States is by far the world's biggest emitter of carbon dioxide.

Mr. Clinton's proposal comes as United Nations members are gathering at The Hague to discuss ways to implement the Kyoto Protocol. "The scientific consensus is clear: the earth is warming and there is strong evidence that human activity is part of the reason why," the president said in an address broadcast today over the Internet so international delegates could have access to it. The speech is posted at the White House Web site, www .whitehouse.gov.

The system is already in place for sulfur oxides, which cause acid rain, and is in place in some states for nitrogen oxides, which cause smog and acid rain. Mr. Clinton did not provide any numbers for the amount that emissions of mercury or carbon dioxide should be cut.

Mr. Clinton also did not specify what power companies could do to generate allowances for sale. However, technicians said they could burn fuel more efficiently or switch from coal to natural gas, which produces less carbon dioxide. That also would cut emissions of mercury and other pollutants. The power companies could also plant trees or pay to prevent tree cutting, which has the effect of taking carbon dioxide out of the air and storing it in the wood.

Some environmentalists have advocated giving carbon dioxide credits only for increasing the efficiency of energy use, and thus reducing the amount of fuel that must be burned. Going into the negotiations at The Hague, the United States delegation will argue for giving credit for agricultural practices that keep more carbon in the soil.