The newspaper says in an editorial with the California governor already committed, Spitzer’s intervention could tip the national debate and compel the Bush Administration to move more quickly with meaningful federal legislation.

Last fall, California became the first state to mandate reductions of greenhouse-gas emissions from every sector of the economy. Spitzer’s job has already been made easier by his predecessor, George Pataki, who joined California in demanding more fuel-efficient cars and increased funds for energy-efficiency programs. Pataki also enrolled New York in an effort to reduce regional greenhouse-gas emissions in seven Northeastern states.

The Times said Spitzer, who built a formidable environmental record of his own as attorney general and has endorsed Pataki’s programs, must now “get the regional greenhouse initiative up and running, and make sure that any new power plants built to meet the state’s energy needs use the most modern technologies and add as little as possible to the atmosphere’s already heavy carbon burden.”