U.S. to propose 17 percent emissions cut in Copenhagen

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will pledge to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent by 2020 at a U.N. climate change meeting in December, the White House said on Wednesday.

Obama's negotiating position for the talks in Copenhagen has been hampered by slow progress on a climate bill in the U.S. Senate.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that sets a 17 percent reduction target for emissions by 2020 from 2005 levels. A Senate version aims for a 20 percent cut.

The European Union is pressing for more aggressive cuts and has pledged a 20 percent drop in its emissions compared to 1990 levels.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason, editing by Ross Colvin and Sandra Maler)