Climate Action in Annapolis

The legislature considers aggressive reductions in greenhouse gases.

MARYLAND's efforts to slow global warming got a big boost late last month when Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) threw his support behind a bill in the state Senate to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. That was the right move. Climate change is upon us, and continuing to wait for leadership from Washington is no longer an

option.

The legislation calls on the state Department of the Environment to devise regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 percent from 2006 levels by 2020. The bill would also set up a cap-and-trade system: The state would cap the amount of greenhouse gases that could be emitted and issue allowances to companies, which could then buy and sell those rights. Residents would be encouraged to participate as well, by, for example, reducing energy use. These regulations, which would be adopted starting in September next year, would codify recommendations of the Climate Change Commission that Mr. O'Malley formed last April.

The ambitious targets echo mandates passed in California, New Jersey and Hawaii, but they've rattled some in the Free State. Opponents say that the reductions would hurt the economy, jack up utility prices and put people out of work. In response, an initial mandate of a 90 percent reduction from 2006 levels by 2050 was scaled back to being a goal. And regulators must ensure that these changes don't disproportionately affect certain industries, such as the carbon-intensive steel industry. Sen. Paul G. Pinsky (D-Prince George's), one of the bill's sponsors, tells us that suggestions from steelworkers, such as having a labor voice on advisory committees, are being attended to.

Maryland joined seven other states in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that put carbon emissions limits on the utility industry. And it adopted California's stringent tailpipe emissions standards, which the federal Environmental Protection Agency rejected in December. Maryland and other states are suing to overturn that dismaying decision. Until Washington breaks its maddening inertia on a national climate change policy, the states must be allowed to lead.