Topeka ? A far-reaching strategy to tackle energy and climate change is now before Kansas citizens.

Kansas Energy Council is seeking public comment on its 15 draft proposals. The council will hold a public meeting today in Wichita and then meet a couple of more times before it presents a final recommendations to state leaders.

“But before the Energy Council approves and delivers this report, we want to get input from Kansans so that the final product reflects a common vision for a comprehensive energy plan,” said Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson, co-chair of the KEC.

Proposals to reduce the 70 mph speed limit on some Kansas roads to 65 mph and increase speeding fines by 50 percent have gained the most publicity.

But the package of recommendations also touches on the international debate over how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“I hope that Kansans will join us to share their thoughts and concerns as we move together towards a clean energy future,” Parkinson said.

Today’s meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. to noon at the Marcus Welcome Center on the campus of Wichita State University. The first public hearing on the proposals drew only 10 people earlier this month at Fort Hays State University.

In Kansas, the debate over carbon dioxide emissions and their effect on climate change has fired up passions on both sides.

A proposal to build two 700-megawatt coal-burning power plants in southwestern Kansas was stopped earlier this year by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who cited concerns over CO2 emissions. Seventy-five percent of the state’s electricity comes from coal-fired power plants, which emit 35,639 metric tons of CO2 per year, according to the KEC.

The KEC recommendations say any attempt to tax C02 emissions or establish a cap-and-trade system to limit emissions should come from the federal government. But the package provides a number of proposals aimed at reducing carbon dioxide through conservation, efficiency and alternative energy sources.

On the speed limit proposal, the KEC said the reduction would decrease pollution. At speeds over 60 mph, each 5 mph increase also increases greenhouse gas emission from 7 percent to 23 percent, according to the KEC. The slower speed would also improve road safety and reduce accident and fatality rates, it said.

The proposal to increase fines by 50 percent is recommended as a deterrent to speeding. Under the proposal, the current fine for driving 10 mph over the speed limit would increase from $30 to $45.