Texas Legislature could be going 'green'

The upcoming legislative session, however, could be different, with lawmakers from both parties already talking about renewable energy, energy efficiency and so-called "green jobs" as priorities.

"The climate has changed, atmospherically and politically," said Tom "Smitty" Smith, executive director of the Texas office for Public Citizen, a consumer and environmental advocacy group.

For some time now, Texas lawmakers have been cool to global warming, spurning several measures that dealt directly with the issue. The state is America's power plant and gas pump and thus leads the nation, by far, in emissions of heat-trapping gases that contribute to climate change.

But with a new president who has pledged to cap carbon dioxide emissions and invest in renewable energy, lawmakers and lobbyists expect Washington to move aggressively to combat climate change.

Chances are Texas lawmakers will continue a wait-and-see approach on rules regulating emissions, focusing instead on financial carrots, in part because of concerns over the slumping economy.

What is emerging is an environmental agenda that could provide incentives for large-scale solar-energy projects, set goals for reducing utilities' energy consumption and promote efficiency through new building codes.

Heat-trapping gases are tied to energy use because the process of burning fossil fuels emits carbon dioxide. So, any measure to conserve energy can indirectly cut greenhouse emissions.

"There is a lot of momentum on renewable energy and energy efficiency," said Ken Kramer, director of the Sierra Club's Lone Star chapter. "That's where we're putting emphasis."

The approach, in some ways, is through a side door because the declared intent isn't to control global warming. The Republican-controlled Legislature historically hasn't supported tough environmental rules but has embraced renewable energy because of the economic opportunity.

Texas now has more electrical generating capacity from wind turbines than any other state, including California, which is generally seen in a greener tint. California recently adopted the nation's first comprehensive plan to slash heat-trapping emissions, with a goal to cut them by 15 percent over the next 12 years.

State Sen. Rodney Ellis, a Houston Democrat, has once again filed a bill that is patterned after the California law that led to the climate-change plan.

His bill is intended to achieve "the maximum feasible and cost-effective reductions" of heat-trapping gas emissions by 2023, using a market-based strategy and better monitoring and reporting programs.

But the bill has little chance of passage, legislative aides and lobbyists said.

"There isn't the political will or need to address this," said Steve McMillen, an Austin-based environmental attorney for Baker Botts, which represents coal-fired utilities, petrochemical plants and refineries.

Gov. Rick Perry, for one, has said federal regulation of carbon-dioxide emissions would be economically disastrous to Texas. Such rules could disproportionately harm the state because of its concentration of refineries, chemical plants and coal-burning power plants, he said during a news conference last month.

"We would rather find ways to unleash our economy than strangle it," Perry said.

The governor's Texas Advisory Panel on Federal Environmental Regulation also called for regulatory restraint because "recent climate research calls into question prevailing public perceptions of the cause and extent of global warming."

The position troubles some environmentalists who believe it puts Texas at a disadvantage as other states and countries shape policy.

"It's sad that (Texas lawmakers) are still having the debates no one else is having," said Matthew Tejada, executive director of the Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention.