US Bill on Climate Change Blocked in Senate

06 June 2008 -- U.S. lawmakers Friday blocked a sweeping climate change bill in the Senate after a bitter debate over its cost and impact on fuel prices.

The bill received only 48 of the 60 votes needed to bring it for a final debate in the Senate.

The measure calls for mandatory limits on the amount of greenhouse gases that U.S. power plants, refineries and factories can release. The bill would cut gas emissions by two-thirds by the year 2050.

Supporters of the measure argued it would create millions of new jobs and new technology to make the United States more energy independent.

But opponents, including U.S. President George Bush, said the measure would bring $6 trillion in new costs to the economy and put U.S. businesses at a disadvantage with foreign competitors. President Bush vowed to veto the measure, known as the Lieberman-Warner bill after its authors.

Most of the world's major scientific agencies believe that the burning of fossil fuels is a major source of greenhouse gases, which trap heat from the sun.

Source: VOA News