Pelosi wants to pass CO2 bill this year

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rep. Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the House of Representatives, said on Friday she wanted Congress to pass mandatory caps on heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions this year.

"I'd like to see it pass this year," Pelosi told reporters at a news conference. "Congress will act upon cap-and-trade legislation in this Congress."

Pelosi's comments came a day after President George W. Bush called on 15 influential countries to agree by the end of 2008 to a long-term goal to cut emissions, and is the most specific timeline that Pelosi has set for congressional action to date.

The United States is the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter, and Pelosi has said she wants to halve U.S. emissions by 2050 through a cap-and-trade system.

Such a system would set industry-specific reduction targets and require those who exceed them to buy permits to pollute.