US House passes historic climate change bill

I / Washington June 27, 2009, 10:36 IST

The US House of Representatives narrowly passed a historic legislation to limit pollution blamed for global warming, handing President Barack Obama a major, hard-fought victory.     

By a 219-212 margin, lawmakers yesterday voted for the first time in US history to limit heat-trapping carbon emissions and shift the US economy to cleaner energy in a move backers said will create jobs and restore Washington's shaky leadership on climate change ahead of global talks set for December.     

Obama immediately hailed the vote, telling reporters at the White House that it amounted to "a victory of the future over the past" as well as "a bold and necessary step."     

"The American people are demanding that we abandon the failed policies and politics of the past; we no longer accept inaction; that we face up to the challenges of our time. And today, the House has done exactly that," he said.     

The "American Clean Energy and Security Act" aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, and 83 percent by 2050, create "green" jobs, and wean the US economy from oil imports.     

The bitter, day-long debate pitted supporters who argued the bill would put a shine back on the battered US economy and foes who described the measure's more than 1,200 pages as a grim recipe for long unemployment lines.