Kerry aims for compromise US climate bill ahead of Copenhagen

US Senator John Kerry said yesterday that he is aiming to release a new draft climate change bill before the Copenhagen Summit next month, in a move that could increase the chances of a global deal being reached.

Hopes of a legally binding treaty being signed at the Copenhagen meeting have been widely dismissed in recent weeks, but negotiators are still hopeful a political agreement can be reached that would commit industrialised countries to emission-reduction targets and provide the foundations for a wider legally-binding treaty to be signed in 2010.

However, the chances of such an agreement being reached largely centre on America's ability to commit to binding emission reductions, such as those included in the climate bill co-authored by Kerry alongside Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer, which is currently working its way through the Senate.

The bill, which would commit the US to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by 2020, is struggling to secure the necessary support in the Senate, and Kerry has been hosting a series of urgent bi-partisan meetings designed to deliver a compromise version of the bill that could secure support from moderate Republicans and those Democrat Senators that have expressed reservations about the bill.

Speaking to reporters following a meeting yesterday between Senators and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, Kerry said that he was aiming to "outline" a compromise bill capable of securing bi-partisan support before Copenhagen.

"We are engaged in a process that will hopefully put us in a position to go to Copenhagen with a framework or outline of where the Senate will be heading in legislation," he said, adding that Ban "made it crystal clear that leadership by the United States of America is critical" to the success of Copenhagen.

The compromise bill is expected to include greater support for the nuclear industry and domestic oil drilling, and could also lower the target of cutting emissions 20 per cent by 2020.

The move is likely to fuel speculation that President Barack Obama could announce emission targets at the Copenhagen Summit.

Jonathan Pershing, the lead US negotiator at the Barcelona talks, gave the clearest indication to date that America would announce a provisional target before the end of the Copenhagen summit.

According to Times reports, the US chief climate negotiator hinted last week that the US could yet move to reignite the stalled negotiations with more detailed commitments.

"Developing countries, including the US, need to make robust mid-term reductions from a set base year," he said. "In the US we are moving to make a substantial contribution to a robust Copenhagen deal. We are very interested in seeing that deal move forward and we recognise that others are seeking numbers from us."

He added that Obama could announce a target before it gains Senate approval. "The executive body has authorities which are not exclusively reliant on Congress and that is a decision which has to be made," he said, adding that the US was also preparing to make a "substantial contribution" to funding climate change activities in developing countries.

Ban Ki-Moon said that any movement from the Senate towards delivering a US climate change bill would represent a "strong message" to other nations that it is committed to tackling climate change.

However, it remains to be seen if a compromise bill will prove sufficient to break the deadlock in the Copenhagen talks, particularly given the proposed target to cut emissions 20 per cent on 2005 levels equates to cuts of around six per cent on 1990 levels. Meanwhile, developing nations are demanding that rich countries adhere to climate scientist's recommendations and agree to cut emissions by 40 per cent on 1990 levels by 2020.

Moreover, some Senators are pushing for the compromise bill to enable carbon tariffs that could be levied against imports from more carbon-intensive economies - a proposal that is already facing fierce opposition from trading partners such as China and India.

Democratic Senator Max Baucus, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, told Reuters yesterday that such measures would have to be included in the final bill to protect US industries from international competitors that are not subject to the same emission rules.

"We can not allow our manufacturing industries to fade as a result of trade with countries that refuse to negotiate global solutions to global concerns," he said.