Climate change bill heads for full Senate
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Legislation aimed at fighting climate change by capping greenhouse gas emissions was approved on Wednesday by a Senate committee and is headed for debate in the full Senate.
Sen. John Warner, a Virginia Republican and the bill's co-sponsor, acknowledged he is a "convert" to climate change and pushed for quick action on the measure, which sets up a cap-and-trade system to limit carbon emissions.
"The United States simply has to take a leadership role," Warner told the committee. "We are the superpower in the world and we've got to utilize our status to try and help correct a situation I think all of us acknowledge is causing hardships ... that are really without precedent.
"If we don't act, China and India will simply hide behind America's skirts of inaction."
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved America's Climate Security Act after more than nine hours of wrangling, with Democrats and independents in favor.
Other Republicans on the committee, opposed the measure, contending it would cost American jobs and hurt the economy.
The full Senate is expected to consider the bill next year.
The 11-8 committee vote came as talks were under way in Bali, Indonesia, on the next steps toward a global plan to stem climate change after the carbon-capping Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.
The United States is now the only major industrialized nation to reject the Kyoto pact. The Bush administration has objected to mandatory targets for carbon emissions overall, saying these would hurt the U.S. economy, and has instead favored voluntary targets and "aspirational goals."
The bill, also sponsored by independent Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, aims to set up a federal program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the power, industry and transportation sectors by 70 percent by 2050, without cutting economic growth or imposing hardship on U.S. citizens.
Committee chairwoman Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat and longtime environmentalist, savored the victory.
"Finally, America is taking bold steps to avert the catastrophe that awaits our children and grandchildren if we do nothing," Boxer said. She said the bill aims to fight global warming while keeping the economy strong.
Boxer and other members of Congress had planned to attend the Bali meeting, but Senate business is expected to keep them in Washington.
The White House has stressed its commitment to the discussions in Bali, and is sending a delegation that includes James Connaughton, head of the Council on Environmental Quality, and Paula Dobriansky, under-secretary of State.
At a briefing Wednesday, Connaughton said the United States hopes to bring together representatives from the world's biggest greenhouse polluters, including China and India.
(Editing by Doina Chiacu)
