LOS ANGELES, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- California will join hands with three neighboring states to coordinate policies for curbing global warming, officials confirmed on Saturday.
At a joint meeting in San Francisco, utility regulators of the four states - California, Oregon, New Mexico and Washington – were mapping out plans to promote energy efficiency and explore standards for emissions of greenhouse gases related to power generation.
They signed a joint framework on Friday to guideline their joint efforts, according to participants in the meeting.
The four states take the move despite the Bush administration's reluctance to impose caps on emissions of greenhouse gases.
Several other states have already taken steps to implement restrictions on carbon dioxide and other pollutants to combat global warming.
New York and six other Northeastern states are working on restricting power-plant emissions.
California has taken the lead in combating gas emissions. It passed a law earlier this year to impose limits across all industries.
"We can't wait for the reluctant federal government to act," said Lee Beyer, chairman of the Oregon Public Utility Commission.
