http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/02/bloomberg-calls-for-tax-on-carbon-emissions/index.html?hpI'm at the swanky Waterfront Seafood Grill on Pier 70. In the bar, in fact. But it's not a drinking lunch. I'm covering a noon speech by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg as part of the 2007 Mayor's Climate Protection Summit. I knew I was at the right place because outside were a half-dozen government SUVs. Apparently it takes a lot of horsepower to fix global warming.

Bloomberg is expected to make a specific proposal during his speech, according to AP. He will call for national "pollution pricing" that would raise taxes for companies based on how much greenhouse gas they release into the atmosphere.

Bloomberg also was set to announce that he will travel to the Indonesian island of Bali next month to be a guest participant at the United Nations climate conference, where nations will start discussing a replacement for the Kyoto Treaty. It aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions and expires in 2012.

According to a copy of his prepared remarks for the Seattle gathering, Bloomberg's pollution tax plan envisions a fee of $15 for every ton of greenhouse gas. It would be "revenue-neutral," meaning that the proposal by the Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent includes a tax cut that would return $500 a year to the average taxpayer.

Bloomberg is still being talked about as a possible independent presidential candidate. He'll meet with reporters afterwards and I'm sure that question will be asked.

The New York Times has the full text of Boomberg's speech at the bottom of this story.