Torn between a desire to address global warming and industry's concerns about high costs, the Clinton administration is considering a plan that would cap greenhouse pollution yet allow businesses an "escape hatch" if it becomes too expensive.
The proposal has gained increasing prominence within the White House, especially among the president's economic advisers. It would allow the United States to agree to significant reductions in carbon emissions at an upcoming climate conference.Administration officials emphasized Thursday that a U.S. proposal for the December climate negotiations were still being crafted.
"We've been looking at a lot of ideas and we haven't ruled anything in or out," said Todd Stern, the point man at the White House for global warming issues.
But sources familiar with the discussions acknowledged that a so-called "hybrid" proposal for dealing with heat-trapping emissions into the atmosphere is getting increasing attention.
President Clinton repeatedly has said he wants to conclude binding commitments among industrial nations to reduce carbon and other heat-trapping pollution as part of a climate treaty to be negotiated in Kyoto, Japan, in December. But he has said he also wants to give U.S. industry flexibility to keep costs low.
Part of that flexibility long has been a proposed pollution-trading arrangement among industrial countries, and perhaps even developing countries such as China. The latest wrinkle would be to add a "trigger" mechanism that would allow countries to avoid compliance with agreed upon emission caps if cutting pollution exceeds a certain cost.