Four U.S. West states adopt greenhouse gas accord

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Energy regulators from four U.S. Western states, saying they cannot wait for the Bush administration to act on climate change, signed an agreement on Friday to cooperate to promote energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

The move by the public utilities commissions of California, Oregon, Washington and New Mexico is likely to draw in other states in the West, officials said.

A meeting of the four state commissions in San Francisco to adopt a “Joint Action Framework on Climate Change,” drew regulatory and legislative representatives from Montana, Wyoming, Utah and Nevada and even a group from Australia.

“The Bush administration has continually failed to take action” to fight global warming, Ben Lujan, chairman of the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission, said.

Reuters