Nov. 21--CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- It's a warm-up act of sorts.

A global warming skeptic and leading climate change expert plan to face off during a Dec. 7 debate at the University of Charleston.

Patrick Michaels, senior fellow at the Cato Institute, and David Hawkins, director of Climate Change at the National Resources Defense Council, will debate the potential effect of federal "cap-and-trade" legislation on West Virginia's economy at the University of Charleston's Geary Auditorium. UC President Ed Welch will moderate.

The following month, Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship and environmentalist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will square off on the same UC stage and debate many of the same issues -- America's energy policy and climate change.

In an interview with the Gazette-Mail, Michaels predicted that cap-and-trade legislation would prompt job losses in West Virginia -- and not just in the coal industry. Railroad, trucking and other businesses that support mining also would suffer, he said.

"Cap and trade will put coal at a disadvantage unless the carbon dioxide from the combustion of coal is captured and stored," said Michaels, a fellow in environmental studies at The Cato Institute, a conservative think-tank. "It will cause great economic disruption, particularly in West Virginia, and you're not going to get any noticeable climatic effect."

Hawkins, an expert on greenhouse emissions, has an entirely different view of cap and trade. He suggested that West Virginia look at the legislation as an opportunity for economic growth.

"This is an issue West Virginia politicians should embrace, rather than close their eyes and hope it goes away, because it won't go away," said Hawkins, who advocates market-base approaches, such as cap and trade, to solve environmental problems. "Since a significant part of West Virginia's economy depends on coal production, it's a challenge, but the way you deal with a challenge is not by ignoring it."

Under cap and trade, the federal government would establish the maximum amount of carbon dioxide emissions that U.S. companies could put in the atmosphere. The businesses would then buy and sell permits to emit greenhouse gases. In other words, the plan calls for making polluters pay for damaging the environment.

The U.S. House already has passed cap-and-trade legislation. The proposal is under consideration in the Senate.

Hawkins said developers and investors understand that the climate change issue isn't going to go away, and that additional regulations will be enacted to reduce carbon emissions.