But many Republican governors said they do not see the benefits.
Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, whose state was an original member of the Northeastern cap-and-trade program, has since withdrawn from it. In Ohio, a heavily coal-dependent state where the Republican governor, John R. Kasich, has also been mentioned as a possible 2016 presidential candidate, officials are clear that cap and trade will not be welcomed. “We think it’s an unnecessary regulation,” said Craig Butler, head of the Ohio Department of Environment.
States with Democratic governors think differently. Energy officials in Illinois, which ranks as one of the nation’s top 10 producers of both coal and coal-fired carbon pollution, have in the past considered joining either the northeastern program or starting up a similar program in the Midwest.
“We’ve also looked at our own go-it-alone Illinois cap-and-trade plan,” said Douglas Scott, chairman of the Illinois Commerce Commission, which regulates the state’s electric utilities. “But joining a larger, multistate program, we’ll be able to spread out the risk, to mitigate the economic impact.”
Article Appeared @http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/29/us/politics/obama-to-offer-rules-to-sharply-curb-power-plants-carbon-emissions.html?hp