EPA to Issue Carbon Dioxide Rule, Obama Climate Czar Says

That would start the ball rolling...

"The next step is a notice of proposed rulemaking," for new regulations on CO2 emissions, Ms. Browner said one the sidelines of the National Governors Association meeting, one of her first public appearances since inauguration.

Ms. Browner declined to say exactly when the EPA would issue the finding or rulemaking, but EPA chief Lisa Jackson has indicated it could be on April 2, the anniversary of Mass Vs. EPA.

Officially recognizing that carbon dioxide is a danger to the public sets would trigger regulation of the greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power plants, refineries, chemical plants, cement firms, vehicles and any other emitting sectors across the economy.

Industry fears it could shut down the economy, not only preventing plants to operate and a drastic retooling of the energy sector but also pushing costs up uncompetitively, while environmentalists say that Administration action is required by law and to pressure lawmakers to act.

But Ms. Browner said the Administration would prefer that Congress would draft legislation rather than co2 to be regulation under the Clean Air Act because lawmakers could develop a bill that could more deftly regulate the greenhouse gas through a cap-and-trade system.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D., Nev.) said Friday he aimed to pass a climate change bill by the end of the summer, and Rep. Henry Waxman (D., Calif.) head of the panel responsible for drafting a co2 bill, said he wanted a bill approved by Memorial Day.