Washington, D.C. ? Governors want to expand state regulation of greenhouse gases in hopes of increasing pressure for federal action on global warming, the chairman of the National Governors Association said Wednesday.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty, R-Minn., said in an Associated Press interview that getting more states to limit greenhouse gases is a priority among clean energy issues for the group.

Pawlenty said limits by California, Oregon, Washington and most states in the Northeast “could be the basis for what happens across the rest of the country.” That includes the Midwest, where states have been more reluctant to take steps against global warming.

Later, at a news conference with Democratic Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Pawlenty discussed how states can promote conservation and alternative fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel, and accelerate development of clean energy technologies.

Many governors already are at work in these issues, said Sebelius, who is helping lead the association’s clean energy program.