Nov 26 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Elizabeth Souder The Dallas
Morning News
Texas Gov. Rick Perry warned on Tuesday that federal regulation of carbon
dioxide would harm the Texas and U.S. economies, pushing up energy prices
and limiting growth.
Mr. Perry urged the government to consider copying Texas' renewable energy
rules, which have stimulated wind power development, rather than regulate
greenhouse gas emissions.
Depending on how the rules work, Texas could be disproportionately affected
by climate change regulations because the state has a large number of
refining and chemical plants, as well as a large oil and gas industry.
Mr. Perry convened the Texas Advisory Panel on Federal Environmental
Regulation to consider the effect on Texas.
The governor was responding to a federal decision earlier this month to
reconsider a permit for a coal-burning power plant in Utah that wouldn't cap
carbon dioxide emissions. On Nov. 13, the Environmental Protection Agency's
appeals board ordered the EPA to reconsider the plant permit and either
limit emissions or justify a decision not to.
The EPA is not expected to act on carbon limits before President-elect
Barack Obama takes office in January. But the board decision pointed to the
increased likelihood that other plants could face similar challenges with
the same outcome.
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