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Climate panel recommends carbon caps, over objections

Posted September 06, 2007 11:00 pm

Mike Ramsey

A state panel on global warming approved recommendations Thursday to control future carbon dioxide emissions in Illinois, but not without dissent from some members.

The Illinois Climate Change Advisory Group capped a six-month series of meetings by voting on five proposed policies, including California-style limits on automobile emissions and a state-level "cap and trade" program under which industrial plants would pay to exceed carbon restrictions. The recommendations will be part of a larger final report forwarded later this year to Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The governor challenged the broad-based panel early this year to identify ways Illinois can reduce its so-called greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020 - an estimated yearly reduction of 81 million tons, according to chairman Doug Scott.

"I think it's important for Illinois to show that a Midwestern state can take these initiatives, too," Scott, director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, said. "It's pretty well been limited to (states on) the coasts."

The sweeping cap-and-trade system and automobile curbs were considered essential to meeting the 2020 goal, and the recommendations passed 21-10 and 20-8, respectively, with some members abstaining.

Opposition to the "California car" restriction came from a representative from Ford Motor Co., who warned fellow panelists that such a standard could hike auto prices by $3,000 per vehicle. Officials from Ameren and Midwest Gen were among panel members who argued against an Illinois cap-and-trade program, saying a national system applying to all states would make more sense.

"We don't necessarily disagree with that," Scott said after the meeting. "Very often, national policy gets made expressly because states are taking action."

Other policies the group endorsed Thursday include a proposed requirement that utilities get a portion of their electricity from new power plants that "capture" and store carbon dioxide.

None of the ideas are certain to become realities at the state level. Many of the two dozen recommendations in the advisory group's report would need to be approved by the Illinois General Assembly. Scott said Blagojevich's administration would likely seek passage of the measures next spring.

The theory of global warming - that carbon dioxide and other gas emissions raise temperatures and melt polar ice caps - is now widely accepted by scientists.

Illinois, the fifth-largest state, emitted 231 million metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2002, making it the world's 23rd-largest producer, Environment Illinois has reported. Power plants and vehicles created most of it, the organization said.

Mike Ramsey can be reached at (312) 857-2323 or ghns-ramsey@sbcglobal.net.

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