US Senate abandons climate bill

• 13 years ago (2010-07-23)
• David Flin

North America 1004

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In the USA, Senate Democrats have abandoned plans to pass a broad energy bill this summer. They claim that a lack of Republican support for the bill is the reason for the failure. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said: “We don’t have a single Republican to work with us. We don’t have the votes.”

Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman had drawn up a bill similar to that passed by the House of Representatives last year. Kerry and Lieberman’s bill was intended to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Even a version of the bill that only capped carbon emissions from power plants failed to gain Republican support.

Reid said that he was delaying attempts to pass climate change legislation until the autumn. However, it is highly unlikely that a politically sensitive issue will be on the agenda in the run-up to the mid-term elections in November.

It is thought that Reid will focus before the August recess on energy measures that address the Gulf oil spill, boost deployment of natural gas-powered vehicles, and fund home energy efficiency retrofits.