U.S. President Barack Obama's top energy advisor says the U.S. Congress
is not likely to pass a bill targeting climate change this year.
The
aide, Carol Browner, made the remarks Friday in Washington, but said
the lack of a new U.S. policy will not hurt the country's ability to
negotiate an international climate treaty.
A final round of negotiations on a new global treaty are scheduled for December in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Senate
Democrats unveiled a plan Wednesday to cut U.S. greenhouse-gas
emissions by 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2020. The House of
Representatives passed a bill in June calling for a 17 percent cut.
If
the Senate passes a climate change bill, the two measures would need to
be negotiated into one final bill and signed by Mr. Obama.
In addition to climate change, U.S. lawmakers are also dealing with major health-care and financial reforms.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
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Obama Energy Advisor: Climate Bill Unlikely in 2009
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