Xcel to reveal global warming risks

Under a settlement deal with New York AG Andrew Cuomo, coal-fired electric power plant builder Xcel Energy will disclose the possible fiscal ramifications of future global warming risks, such as lawsuits, to its shareholders.

Using the state’s Martin Act, Cuomo has his sights on four other companies — the AES Corporation, Dominion, Dynegy and Peabody Energy. Good luck with Peabody, based on official comments:

When Mr. Cuomo issued his subpoenas last year, Vic Svec, a spokesman for Peabody Energy, described the attorney general’s inquiry as “outrageous” and suggested that Mr. Cuomo’s use of the Martin Act was a form of legal harassment.

Reached Wednesday, Mr. Svec said: “We’re confident that our disclosures around CO2” — carbon dioxide — “have been and continue to be adequate.”

Yeah, right. And “clean” coal actually is.