BOSTON (AP) – Talks broke down Wednesday among state officials trying to reach an agreement to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the Northeast, leaving southern New England’s participation in the multistate compact uncertain.

A spokesman for Rhode Island Gov. Don Carcieri said Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut had misgivings over the proposal that would have put a regional plan in place to cut so-called greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.

“There was a conference call late this afternoon with the chiefs of staffs in the states and Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island signaled that they were not prepared at this time” to sign on to the proposal, said Carcieri spokesman Jeff Neal.

The draft proposal would freeze utility emissions at current levels through 2015, and then require a 10 percent reduction by 2020. It also would create a market for greenhouse gases.

, allowing those who lower emissions to sell excess “credits” to those who can’t cut quickly enough. Some critics fear the plan could drastically increase electricity rates because it would force companies to build new plants, or convert them to use natural gas.

Neal said Carcieri was concerned about the costs of the plan. “Ultimately we don’t know how much this plan will raise energy prices,” he said.

A spokeswoman at Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s office said the governor would likely comment on the matter on Thursday.

Romney has expressed concerns with the initiative in the past, saying that the costs of cutting emissions would be passed on to consumers. He’s also said other states would be allowed to increase emissions while Massachusetts would be required to make dramatic cuts.

A message left with Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell’s chief of staff was not immediately returned.

The bipartisan Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative has been working since 2003 on what would be the first multistate program in the nation to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide. The nine states involved are New Jersey, Delaware, New York and the six New England states.

The draft proposal would freeze utility emissions at current levels through 2015, and then require a 10 percent reduction by 2020. It also would create a market for greenhouse gases, allowing those who lower emissions to sell excess “credits” to those who can’t cut quickly enough. Some critics fear the plan could drastically increase electricity rates because it would force companies to build new plants, or convert them to use natural gas.

Officials had hoped to announce a final agreement on Thursday and worked throughout the day to resolve differences.

“We are greatly disappointed that after two-and-a-half years of productive work we’ve been unable to reach a final agreement with all the states that have participated in this process,” said Peter Constantakes, a spokesman for New York Gov. George Pataki.

Constantakes said when it was apparent Wednesday evening that no agreement would be reached, officials called off a scheduled Thursday news conference in New York City.

He said the remaining states would try to go forward. Neal called Thursday an “artificial deadline,” and said Rhode Island would continue to be involved in the process.

Messages left with Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative officials in Delaware, Vermont, Maine and New Jersey weren’t immediately returned.

Environmental groups were disappointed that the states couldn’t reach an agreement.

“We’re hearing that it isn’t going to work out. It’s very disappointing, but we’re hopeful it will proceed,” said Seth Kaplan, senior attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation in Boston.

Kaplan disputed concerns that the program would end up costing consumers money.

“There’s this myth out there … that somehow the program will be bad for business and bad for the economy and that’s just not true,” he said.

A spokesman for Rep. Martin Meehan, D-Mass., said work needs to be continued to make the regional proposal a reality.

“Massachusetts ought to be the leader on making the initiative work, but essentially we’ve become the leader of the opposition,” said Meehan spokesman Matt Vogel.

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On the Net:

http://www.rggi.org/

AP-ES-12-14-05 2234EST