The state House yesterday approved a Pennsylvania Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act that would require an inventory of heat trapping emissions and development of a statewide tracking and reduction plan.

Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future, a statewide environmental group, said in a press release that the legislation is "the coolest thing the House of Representatives has ever done."

House Bill 110, sponsored by Rep. Greg Vitali, D-Delaware, passed on a vote of 182-15. Bipartisan support was created through an amendment by Rep. Dave Reed, R-Indiana, that clarified the goals of the legislation and guaranteed a diverse group to advise the state Department of Environmental Protection on implementation.

The Senate version of the legislation, Senate Bill 266, the Pennsylvania Global Warming Act, has been amended and approved by the Environmental Resources and Energy Committee. No vote of the full Senate has been scheduled.

Pennsylvania emits 1 percent of the world's greenhouse gases -- more than 105 developing countries combined. Twenty-eight states have already passed climate action plan legislation.

"Cutting our global warming pollution by conserving energy, using more wind and solar energy and pioneering new energy technologies presents a tremendous economic opportunity," said John Hanger, PennFuture's president and chief executive officer.