Dealing with Climate Change

None by KCPW

Governor's Council Finalizes Recommendations

(KCPW News) Governor Huntsman asked for some ideas on how Utah should respond to climate change, and he's getting pages full. His climate change advisory council meets today to finalize a wide-ranging list of recommendations that includes developing more mass transit options and retrofitting coal power plants with technology to capture carbon emissions.

"The diverse recommendations represent the diverse views of the group, which I think is exactly what we wanted," says Rick Sprott, executive director of the Utah Department of Environmental Quality.

Sprott says the report is only the first step. It will be up to Huntsman and state policy makers to decide which recommendations they implement.

The Governor's Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Climate Change consists of more than 20 state regulators, environmentalists, elected officials and energy industry executives. Rather than requiring a consensus on every recommendation, Sprott says the group included any idea that had support from at least five members.

Governor's Energy Advisor Dianne Nielson says the group skirted the hot politics of global warming and focused, instead, on how to handle the heat:

"The bottom line is we're going to have to deal with changes in climate and increased demand for energy, so that we aren't dependent on one or two fuels," says Nielson. "And that's important to ensure we have the energy resource to be able to encourage economic development."

The final report includes a climate assessment from leading scientists who say Utah is bound for hotter, drier years.

Click here to see the final report from the Governor's Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Climate Change.

Email to a friendPosted in KCPW Newsroom. Copyright 2008 KCPW