In 2003, Maine and eight other Northeastern and mid-Atlantic states began working on a regional approach to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

With the details of the landmark agreement due for release in early December, Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, perhaps with his eye trained on the White House, has balked. The delay has supporters of the framework, called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, concerned.

Environmentalists who have pushed for the cap-and-trade system covering carbon dioxide emissions from power plants in participating states fear that Romney might try to include provisions in the plan that would make it unpalatable to the other states. While Romney is on the record supporting the goals of the compact, its success would run contrary to the approach of the Bush administration. Its success could cause Romney a case of political heartburn later on.

Generally, RGGI, often referred to as Reggie, would freeze carbon dioxide emissions from power plants at their current levels and then reduce them by 10 percent by 2020. It would create a cap-and-trade program that would force polluting utilities to buy credits to compensate for their emissions. Money from those credits could then be used to promote energy efficiency and other pollution control programs.

Opponents of RGGI, including power producers, argue that the proposed system would cause electricity rates to increase. While it’s difficult to predict future energy markets, experts suggest RGGI could add between 2 percent and 4.5 percent to the cost of electricity. Environmentalists, however, counter that energy costs are expected to climb by double, or even triple, digits even without emission-reduction mandates, while a focus on efficiency using funding from the cap-and-trade system could reduce energy consumption by as much as 20 percent.

Already, compromises have scaled back RGGI’s goals. More backsliding could kill the two-and-a-half years of work on a groundbreaking regional approach to controlling greenhouse gases.

Climate change caused by the release of greenhouse gases is real. If left unchecked, it could have a detrimental impact on Maine’s climate and economy. The best way to begin to reverse the damage is to work cooperatively with other states to reduce pollution. With Massachusetts faltering, it’s up to the other governors involved, including Gov. Baldacci, to keep the pressure on for progress.