Nov. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Representative Henry Waxman will challenge Michigan Representative John Dingell for the chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, a Democratic aide said.

Waxman, 69, chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, has been making calls to Democratic House members to rally support, said an aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The challenge would pit Dingell, 82, the most senior House member, against Waxman, who ranks 12th among 434 members. Waxman has been an advocate of pollution controls while Dingell, whose district includes Detroit, has been a strong supporter of the auto industry.

Waxman is an ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a fellow Californian who endorsed Dingell's primary opponent in 2002.

The Energy and Commerce Committee is likely to take the lead on climate change legislation in the next Congress.

While Dingell has strong support from carmakers and their unions, Waxman is favored by environmental groups who think Dingell has been too easy on industry.

Waxman conducted several environmental investigations in the last Congress, including hearings on coal and carbon pollution.

Deny a Waiver

In May, Waxman led an inquiry into a decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to deny a waiver to California to limit emissions of greenhouse gases from autos, the first such effort in the nation.

Dingell sided with the EPA to oppose California's petition. Automakers, through the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, the main industry trade group, had sued California to block the program, claiming it would cost them billions of dollars to comply.

``Dingell really has a very good understanding of the industry'' and a Waxman chairmanship would be ``very unfortunate,'' said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

If Waxman were to become chairman, ``the fur would really fly,'' Cole said.

Waxman also has argued that new coal-burning plants shouldn't be awarded permits unless they capture and bury their greenhouse gases. Coal accounts for roughly 50 percent of electricity production and is blamed for more than a third of energy-related emissions of gases blamed for global warming.

Slow Learner

Waxman likely would be ``a very slow learner on the importance of coal for affordable energy,'' said Luke Popovich, a spokesman for the National Mining Association in Washington. ``It would have been problematic in the best of times to have Mr. Waxman's views prevail.''

Environmentalists paint Dingell and Waxman in equally stark terms.

Waxman taking the helm at Energy and Commerce ``is like the difference between George Bush and Barack Obama,'' said Dan Becker, an environmental lawyer and director of the Washington- based Safe Climate Campaign. ``Bush and Dingell have been enemies of efforts to improve the environment, while Waxman and Obama have been heroes.''

Becker said Dingell opposed efforts to strengthen the Clean Air Act in the 1990s and worked to ease fuel-efficiency standards under the government's Corporate Average Fuel Economy program for automakers.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lorraine Woellert in Washington at lwoellert@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 5, 2008 17:08 EST