In Bali, U.N. hails Senate climate steps

By David Fogarty

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) - The United Nations praised on Thursday a step by a U.S. Senate committee to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the world's top carbon emitter even as Washington reaffirmed opposition to mandatory caps.

"That's a very encouraging sign from the United States," Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Change Secretariat, said at 190-nation U.N. talks in Bali, Indonesia, of a vote by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.

His comments underscored the isolation of President George W. Bush's administration at the December 3-14 talks. Australia's new government ratified the Kyoto Protocol on Monday, leaving the United States as the only developed nation outside the pact.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has also offered to act as a bridge on climate change between China and the West, a Rudd spokeswoman told Reuters on Thursday.

China is poised to become the world's top carbon emitter and is not bound by emissions caps under the Kyoto Protocol.

Getting China, which is already pursuing energy efficiency targets for its booming economy, to join a broader climate pact is regarded as crucial by many as nations prepare for rising seas, melting glaciers, severe storms and water shortages.

The U.S. Senate committee voted 11-8 on Wednesday for legislation outlining a cap-and-trade system for industry, power generators and transport. The bill is headed for debate in the full Senate.

"It will not alter our position here," U.S. chief climate negotiator Harlan Watson told reporters in Bali of the vote.