White House weighing new U.S. CO2 proposal: sources

By Chris Baltimore

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush administration is debating whether to embrace a mandatory system to control U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and could make an announcement as early as this week, industry sources said on Monday.

It was unclear what form the new plan could take, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the fluid nature of the deliberations.

"Clearly, the White House is weighing some new options for addressing climate policy beyond the approaches it has taken to date," one industry source said. "All signs suggest that something is in the works."

Whether the proposal, which could be made in the form of legislation submitted to Congress, would take a cap-and-trade approach to greenhouse gas emissions remained to be seen, sources said.

If President George W. Bush throws his support behind mandatory carbon dioxide regulations, it would be a major departure from his long-held insistence that placing binding caps on emissions would harm the U.S. economy.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino declined on Monday to confirm rumors that White House action was imminent, though she steered clear of ruling actions out.

Bush is scheduled to speak on Thursday in the White House Rose Garden to recipients of the President's Environmental Youth Awards. Also, administration officials later this week will participate in international climate change negotiations in Paris.

The U.S. Senate is expected to take up mandatory climate change regulations in June.