Washington (Platts)--4May2007

The US government is concerned that domestic power prices could soar by
as much as 30% if it hastily races to stabilize greenhouse concentrations at
levels endorsed Friday by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,
officials said.

     The IPCC findings, part of its fourth assessment of the state of climate
change science and studies, were released Friday in Bangkok. They suggest that
stabilizing GHG concentrations between 450 parts per million and 550 parts per
million would slow the global growth of GDP by no more than 3% between 2010
and 2030.

     In a conference call with reporters on Friday, White House Council on 
Environmental Quality Chairman James Connaughton said the macroeconomic 
conclusions of the IPCC are important. 

     But some of the emissions-cutting measures needed to stabilize GHGs in
the range suggested by IPCC could raise power costs by between 20% and 30%. He
termed it a "very real and local impact, especially for low-income residents."

     DOE officials have testified before Congress that using existing carbon
capture and storage technology--which is designed for enhanced oil
recovery--at power plants could boost electricity rates to the levels
suggested by Connaughton. 

     Hundreds of economists from around the world, including about 50 from the
US, participated in a week-long debate on crafting the findings' "summary for 
policymakers" released Friday. 

     Current GHG concentrations are around 380 ppm and are expected to grow
steadily with emissions for at least the next five years, Harlan Watson, the
State Department's top climate change negotiator, told reporters in the
conference call.

		--Martin Coyne, martin_coyne@platts.com