California, an economic powerhouse in the United States, was taking the first step towards requiring power plant operators and other heavy industries to report the amounts of greenhouse gases they emit, said a report received here on Monday.

The report, issued by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's top environmental advisors, was designed to help combat global warming. It was seen as the first step in fulfilling the governor's pledge last year to implement firm targets for reducing carbon dioxide pollution, beginning as early as 2010.

"Mandatory reporting is something we need to get started on as soon as possible," said Terry Tamminen, the governor's advisor on energy and the environment. "You can't make targets if you don't have anything to measure."

According to the report, the environmental advisors recommended that a small tax be levied on gasoline sales to finance research into alternatives to fossil fuels, but Schwarzenegger has said he would not pursue that option.

Schwarzenegger, who is free to embrace or reject all or part of the recommendations from his Climate Action Team, is expected to signal the direction he wants to take at a global warming summit he has called for April 11 in San Francisco.

The governor was committed to working with the Legislature to meet the greenhouse gas reduction targets he set in a June 2005 executive order, Tamminen said.

The release of the report coincided with the planned unveiling on Monday of a California bill which would direct the California Air Resources Board to put mandatory caps on industry that would meet the governor's target of lowering greenhouse gas emissions by 25 percent over forecast levels by 2020.

"By setting binding limits, the bill will make the governor's targets real," said Devra Wang, an energy expert with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

The report heartened environmentalists and Democratic lawmakers. Business groups, however, said they were concerned that mandatory reporting of carbon dioxide pollution that could lead to limits on greenhouse gas emissions could destroy jobs in California by driving manufacturers to other states and countries.

Most scientists believe that global warming is caused in part by pollution from burning coal and other fossil fuels. According to the administration's report, the rapid buildup of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is raising temperatures around the globe, causing the polar icecaps to shrink and raising ocean levels.

Source: Xinhua