DALLAS - While the U.S. Senate considers a climate bill aiming to dramatically slash air pollution linked to global warming, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and other Republican leaders in the state that leads the nation in greenhouse gas production are watching closely - and objecting loudly.

Perry, backed by powerful business and industry groups, for months has been denouncing the measure, saying it would cripple the vibrant Texas economy and the heavy-polluting oil, gas and chemical industries it depends on. The governor plans to keep up his campaign against legislation he claims would lead to massive job cuts, industries fleeing overseas and more expensive energy for everyone.

"The bill does not help the environment," Perry said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It seems like it's more about controlling than it is on having a real impact on the environment."

The U.S. House narrowly passed the measure in June, with the Texas delegation voting against it 23-9, and a similar version is facing a tough fight in the Senate. Each bill would cut emissions significantly by 2020, with a "cap and trade" system allowing companies to buy and sell permits to release limited amounts of heat-trapping gases.

Most of the nation's 22 Republican governors oppose the measure - including Mississippi's Haley Barbour and Louisiana's Bobby Jindal - but Perry is one of the most vocal. He recently railed against it after being named the head of an oil group that includes elected officials from more than 30 states, and he says he'll use that position and the "bully pulpit" of his office to attack legislation he's called draconian, disastrous and onerous.

Environmental groups and Texans who support the bill say Perry is ignoring the legislation's economic benefits in order to help powerful polluters that support him.

"In short, we can ensure the people of Texas have the responsible and clean energy policies they deserve and that Texas remains at the forefront of the energy field, or we can get left behind," said state Sen. Rodney Ellis, a Democrat who traveled to Washington with state leaders this year to work with the White House on clean energy legislation. "We can't continue fossilized thinking, pretend there is no problem, and resist innovative thinking."

Texas leads the nation in industrial pollution and has more oil refineries, chemical manufacturing plants and coal-fired power plants than any other state. The massive oil and chemical plants employ nearly 270,000 people and pay billions in state and local taxes.