Article published Sep 7, 2007

Freudenthal urges aggressive emissions limits

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal urged the government on Thursday to play a more aggressive, innovative role in limiting carbon emissions.

Freudenthal, a Democrat, testified before Congress in support of government efforts to encourage new clean coal technologies. "The problem at hand is enormous, climate change does not wait for us and we cannot afford to delay," he said.

At the same time, he said any regulation of carbon emissions must be done right, and should include substantial incentives for companies to use cleaner technologies. He compared the development of clean coal to wind power.

"The influx of new wind projects is largely due to a generous tax credit for wind power development," Freudenthal said at the House hearing. "The federal government needs to dedicate the same level of commitment to questions about clean coal. If we don't do something to assist in the capture of carbon from coal, we'll have neither market forces nor tax incentives for companies to make that investment."

He said the absence of a federal mandate on the management of carbon dioxide could lead to a "Balkanization of the economy" as energy companies would get mixed signals from the states. He testified before the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, a new House committee created this year to investigate the effects of climate change.

The committee's chairman, Democratic Rep. Edward Markey of Massachusetts, said at the hearing that "the single greatest challenge we now face is how to reconcile our reliance on coal with the urgent need to reduce carbon dioxide emissions."

Freudenthal asked the committee not to forget the important role that coal will play in the nation's energy future. Wyoming produces more coal than any other state in the nation.