Sunflower Electric Power Corp. CEO Earl Watkins has asserted that regulatory uncertainty is bad for business ("Regulatory process needs to be certain, impartial," Jan. 15 Opinion). So has Amy Blanken-biller, CEO of the Kansas Chamber. They are right. Businesses do need a set of clear and consistent rules.

Ironically enough, that is precisely why some of the nation's leading corporations -- and largest greenhouse gas emitters -- are calling for carbon dioxide regulation.

As Duke Energy CEO Jim Rogers said last year, when elected to chair the Edison Electric Institute, "I've seen several surveys that say 70 or 80 percent of the executives in our industry think there will be carbon regulation. In a sense, we're all building our business plans around the carbon scenario. The only issue is what the regulations will look like and when they'll be implemented."

Duke and other corporate superstars -- including Caterpillar, Deere & Co., Dow Chemical, General Electric and Shell -- have formed the U.S. Climate Action Partnership. Together, they are working toward a cap-and-trade system that would, in effect, put a price on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.

These Fortune 500 companies believe they can "slow, stop and reverse the growth of U.S. emissions while expanding the U.S. economy." Presumably, they know a little something about economic success and regulatory certainty.

They also know that if you're not at the table when the rules get set, you're on the menu later. That is why they are actively working to shape carbon dioxide regulations. Kansas businesses should do the same.

Kansas Health and Environment Secretary Rod Bremby's decision in October did not create regulatory uncertainty; it reflected regulatory uncertainty:

• As of July 2007, members of the 110th Congress had introduced more than 125 bills, resolutions and amendments specifically addressing global climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. Decisions made now under the specter of such regulations may be deemed imprudent under law and subject retroactively to penalty.

• In the past 18 months, proposals for 20 coal plants have stalled nationwide because of public concerns about air pollution, increases in greenhouse gases, rapidly climbing economic costs and future liability.

• Regional agreements between governors in the Northeast, West and, most recently, Midwest provide clear targets for emission reductions and allow for a cap-and-trade system that would put a price on carbon emissions.

Neither Bremby nor Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is "out front" on this issue. They are, in fact, arguably behind -- 22 states already have climate action plans and another 14 are creating plans.

Regulatory certainty is needed, and in the wake of Bremby's decision, Kansas has a historic opportunity to lead the nation in creating it. Let's stop considering false choices between economic vitality and climate stability, and start talking instead about how we achieve both.

Nancy Jackson is executive director of the Climate and Energy Project at the Land Institute in Salina.