Poll: wide support to regulate emissions

WASHINGTON, June 25 (UPI) -- Americans give wide support to regulation of atmospheric release of greenhouse gases from power plants, cars and factories, a poll indicated Thursday.

Support of the issue, keyed to a cap-and-trade approach to reduce global warming, appears to be widespread in Congress among Democrats, Republicans and independents, a new Washington Post-ABC News survey says.

The poll puts the figure of support of regulation at three-fourths of those surveyed, dropping to 52 percent for support of cap and trade.

House leadership, hoping to get the ball rolling before the long Fourth of July break, could begin debate on the issue as early as Friday, The Washington Post reported. A dispute with Republicans over annual spending bills could delay that, however.

The cap-and-trade system, a signature issue for President Obama and the Democratic Congressional leadership, would set a limit on the nation's emissions of greenhouse gases. Eventually, the plan could issue or auction emission allowances that can be bought or sold by companies or individuals, the Post says. Over time, the cap is lowered to reduce the nation's emissions.

With emitters paying for the resulting carbon dioxide, the idea is to provide incentives for developing renewable energy sources and new technologies to limit emissions from coal plants, the report says.

Debate on the cap-and-trade approach has focused on how much it would cost the average American. The Congressional Budget Office put a estimate of $175 a year on the average U.S. household.

The Post-ABC poll was conducted by telephone June 18-21 among a national random sample of 1,001 adults. The margin of error was 3 percentage points.