PORTLAND, Ore. -- Gov. Ted Kulongoski says Oregon and other states are doing the right thing by suing the Environmental Protection Agency to force the federal government to allow tougher automobile emission standards.

Fresh from a trade mission to Europe and Israel, Kulongoski also says he expects to have a draft plan ready next month for a market-based system to reduce pollution called "cap-and-trade" to help Oregon fight global warming. A final plan would be ready by August.

The Democratic governor says tougher auto emission standards are inevitable because the next president, whether a Democrat or Republican, is unlikely to resist adopting the standards nationwide, as the Bush administration has done.

Last week, 18 states, including Oregon, asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to require the EPA to act on the proposed standards within 60 days.

"I think the reality is the need for change is obvious," Kulongoski said in an interview Monday. "I think there's going to be a pent-up desire of Congress to move forward."

But Kulongoski noted that many Europeans doubt whether Americans have the political will to make the commitment necessary for real progress limiting pollution and the effects of climate change.

"They have a sense of policy being directed to the common good," he said about European Union countries working toward pollution goals together.

While Europe was moving toward even smaller and more gas-efficient cars, U.S. manufacturers were avoiding emission standards for gas-guzzling SUVs through exemptions for vehicles weighing more than 5,000 pounds, Kulongoski said.

"Now that it's taking more than $100 to fill the gas tank everybody asks why did we do this," Kulongoski said.

The governor met with European officials in Brussels last week to discuss their cap-and-trade system of regulating greenhouse gases. The system allows companies that reduce their emissions below their caps to sell pollution rights to other companies, providing a financial incentive for emission reductions by assigning a cost to polluting.

Supporters say it also gives companies more flexibility in achieving emission goals while setting a clear limit on those emissions. And it allows companies that can reduce emissions at a lower cost to sell their permits to companies facing higher costs.

For example, utilities that sell electricity in Oregon but cannot immediately reduce greenhouse gas emissions might instead buy credits or spend money on offsetting programs, such as planting trees to soak up excess carbon dioxide.

Kulongoski was one of the leaders in organizing five Western States -- Oregon, Arizona, California, New Mexico and Washington -- to form the Western Regional Climate Action Initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and boost the economy with jobs aimed at energy independence.

Kulongoski says the regional effort also will help shift the states away from fossil-fuel based power plants toward the development of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and wave power.

In Israel, one of the world leaders in battery technology, Kulongoski said he encouraged green-energy companies to set up shop in Oregon. Improved batteries are essential to many energy-saving technologies to save power harvested from the sun and other renewable resources.

Kulongoski also said he learned about new geothermal technology he hopes has potential for the Northwest.