Star-Tribune Editorial Board

Everyone in Wyoming should listen to the message Gov. Dave Freudenthal delivered in an energy lecture here last week.

While there is some disagreement among scientists about global warming, the governor said there's no sense debating whether climate change is real or who is responsible, because states are already taking action based on the belief that it is man-caused.

In 2006, California passed a law that requires a 25 percent cut in carbon dioxide emissions by 2020. Congress has yet to act, but many experts see California's action as the natural precursor to a national effort to reduce carbon dioxide pollution in the wake of climate change.

Wyoming can't afford to remain stuck in the past. If producers in the Cowboy State want to continue providing coal to utilities that serve California and other markets with higher carbon dioxide emission standards, they need to be innovative and find ways to burn coal more efficiently.

For the record, Freudenthal believes climate change is real and that it requires action.

"The data is real," he said. "You can argue about the degree to which man is responsible. But the part we can control is [man-caused] CO2."

Energy development is the major player in Wyoming's economy, and it has been for a long time. It can continue to be, but not without the recognition that industry has to find a way to reduce carbon emissions. Without new technology, the state and its huge coal reserves could be left in the dust.

At the same time, Wyoming needs to develop wind and solar power projects on a major scale to help meet the growing demand for cleaner energy.

Freudenthal favors a federal cap-and-trade program to reduce carbon emissions. Industry (which will ultimately pass the cost on to consumers) can either pay on the front-end by developing new technology or on the back-end by purchasing credits from those who have reduced CO2 emissions. Either way, it won't be cheap.

The governor is also correct when he says Americans must get over the idea that the U.S. shouldn't self-impose carbon reductions if countries like China and India aren't doing the same. Freudenthal said what our nation needs to do is develop carbon-reducing technologies so they can be made available to other countries.

That's where Wyoming innovation comes in. If the state becomes a world leader in clean-coal and alternative energy technology, it can be more secure in its energy future.

There are signs that Wyoming is positioning itself well in its response to the worldwide need to reduce CO2 emissions. The University of Wyoming established the School of Energy Resources and is partnering with General Electric to build a coal gasification plant. Meanwhile, earlier this year the Legislature addressed legal issues for carbon sequestration.

The bottom line, as defined by Freudenthal, is this: "The way we are going to make sure those finances [Wyoming's energy revenues] continue is we have to be as great a leader in the new energy economy as we've been in the traditional energy economy."

That won't be easy, nor inexpensive. The state may have to sacrifice some revenue in the near future as the energy industry adjusts to the new demands that climate change have necessitated. But in the long run, it should definitely prove to be worth it.