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Jan 25, 2008 9:48 am US/Central
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MN Panel Backs Cleaner Cars, Splits On Coal Plants
ST. PAUL (AP) ―
If an advisory panel on climate change has its way, Minnesota motorists will drive slower and could be charged fees based on how much carbon their vehicles emit. And companies would buy and sell carbon allowances in a way that would reduce emissions overall.
The cap-and-trade plans and climate-friendly transportation pricing were just a few of the recommendations endorsed Thursday by the Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group. It plans to forward a report to Gov. Tim Pawlenty by late next week so his administration can formulate bills for the 2008 Legislature to consider.
The recommendations didn't come easy; it took nine months of study and nine hours of voting, with some ideas falling by the wayside. The panel included more than 50 citizens from utilities, industry, environmental and other groups.
"Some of these actions are not easy to do." said David Thornton, assistant commissioner of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. "But these goals are attainable."
As a whole, the policies, incentives and studies of long-range options aim to reduce the state's greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds by 2025.
The panel recommended adoption of cleaner emissions standards for new cars that the federal Environmental Protection Agency has barred from being enacted in California. They are now the subject of litigation involving 17 states, including Minnesota.
One controversial transportation item was a lower speed limit on state highways, though how much lower is not clear.
Peter Sullivan, who works for a commercial vehicle leasing service, said such a move might not be popular, but it's a good idea.
"It's a quick, immediate way for everyday people to make a contribution to stemming climate change by reducing the fuel consumption by reducing speed and saving money. Gas is 3 bucks a gallon," Sullivan said.
The group also agreed the state should fix existing roads before building new ones.
The group found itself divided when it came to coal power plants.
By a narrow margin, the panel voted to set a carbon limit for new coal-fired power plants. But then, led by a majority of panelists from utilities and other business interests, the panel exempted the proposed Mesaba coal-gasification project in northern Minnesota and the proposed Big Stone II plant in eastern South Dakota from those standards.
Chuck Dayton, a retired environmental attorney and member of the panel, said that vote will "lead the public to believe that we're doing something when we're not."
But he noted that the exemption vote was close enough to show that "there's a lot of opposition among the public to building coal plants."
Neither of the proposed plants is a sure thing. An administrative law judge panel has recommended that state regulators halt the Mesaba plant; the Big Stone II plant has lost two of its partner utilities.
Otter Tail Power president Chuck MacFarlane said the Big Stone plant his firm is involved in would be "one of the most efficient plants in the United States in terms of carbon dioxide emissions."
Still, it would emit 68 percent more carbon dioxide than the standard that the climate change panel initially backed.
Last year, Minnesota lawmakers imposed a requirement on utilities to produce 25 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2025, and Pawlenty has urged coal-burners to use carbon "offsets" to negate their carbon dioxide emissions.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)