BOSTON, Dec 2, 2005 -- UPI

 

Massachusetts may drop out of pact that calls for freezing power plant carbon dioxide emissions at their current levels, state sources said.

However, the environmental chief for Massachusetts said negotiators have been working to reach a compromise so that the state could join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, reported the Boston Globe Friday.

The nine-state plan also calls for reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 10 percent by 2020.

At issue is a price cap on how much power plants would pay for each ton of carbon dioxide they emit over the allowed amount.

Businesses tend to want a price cap because it provides certainty for how much they have to pay to do business, but other pact states and environmentalists reject the idea of a price cap, saying it would discourage companies from investing in pollution-control equipment.

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