US House passes historic Climate Change Bill

The legislation, which still has to go through the Senate, was passed by 219-212 votes in the Democratic-controlled House.

The win marks a major victory for President Barack Obama who praised the House for taking “historic action” on climate change. The bill has been a top priority for Obama since he took office. The US is a major polluter and is seen as a key player in the global fight against climate change.

"It's a bold and necessary step that holds the promise of creating new industries and millions of new jobs, decreasing our dangerous dependence on foreign oil," Obama said about the bill.

The bill requires big polluting US companies to reduce GHG emissions by 17 percent by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050, from 2005 levels. It proposes to do this through a cap and trade scheme, under which industries would have to obtain permits for the emissions they release into the atmosphere. It would also compel utility companies to obtain a share of their electricity from renewable sources, such as wind and solar.

But although passed by the House, the bill was opposed by the majority of Republicans and had to be watered down because of strong opposition to it from oil and coal states in the US.

Republicans criticised the bill for threatening US jobs and setting unrealistic targets for cutting GHG emissions.

Some environmental groups, such as Greenpeace, believe a 17 per cent cut in emissions by 2020 doesn’t go far enough. Europe has pledged to reduce its GHG emissions by 20 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020 with a further commitment to increase the target to 30 per cent should an international climate change agreement be reached in Copenhagen at the end of the year.

However, many see Friday’s vote as significant step after years of non-participation by the US in international efforts to fight climate change.

The Senate, which has to draft up its own version of the bill, could pass it as early as this autumn but this is uncertain and it may not happen until after crucial UN talks in Copenhagen in December.