4 states plan joint effort to cut emissions

California utility regulators will team up with counterparts in three neighboring states to coordinate policies for curbing global warming.

The regulators in Oregon, New Mexico and Washington will develop plans to promote energy efficiency and explore standards for emissions of greenhouse gases related to power generation, based on a joint framework signed Friday in San Francisco at the California Public Utilities Commission.

Some state governments are starting to implement restrictions on carbon dioxide and other pollutants to combat global warming amid the Bush administration’s reluctance to impose caps. New York and six other Northeastern states are working on restricting power-plant emissions, and a California law passed this year could impose limits across all industries.

“We can’t wait for the reluctant federal government to act,” Lee Beyer, chairman of the Oregon Public Utility Commission, said at a joint meeting of utility regulators of the four states.

The regulators will work to facilitate renewable energy and promote more advanced coal-fired power plants with systems for capturing and storing emissions.