The US Congress has voted to reduce the carbon emissions that cause global warming and the Climate Change Bill will now go to the Senate.

According to the Guardian newspaper (27 June), the House of Representatives has voted 219 to 212 to bind the US to cutting carbon emissions by 17 per cent from 2005 levels in 2020 and by 83 per cent in 2050. It will also set up a national cap and trade system.

The news comes after Prime Minister Gordon Brown delivered a speech in London (27 June) on the need for an international agreement on climate change.

Brown said that he hoped developed and developing countries will move towards a “lower carbon, climate-resilient development path”. He added that countries must reach a binding global agreement on carbon emission cuts at the United Nations summit in Copenhagen in December.

Speaking to the New York Times about the Climate Change Bill, President Barack Obama said: “I think this was an extraordinary first step. You know, if you had asked people six months ago, or six weeks ago, for that matter, whether we could get an energy bill with the scope of the one that we saw on Friday (26 June) through the House, people would have told you, no way. You look at the constituent parts of this bill, not only a framework for cap and trade, but huge significant steps on energy efficiency, a renewable energy standard, huge incentives for research and development in new technologies, incentives for electric cars, incentives for nuclear energy, clean coal technology. This really is an unprecedented step and a comprehensive approach.”

Speaking at the end of the European Commission’s Green Week conference (26 June), EC President José Manuel Barroso said: “In Copenhagen [United Nations summit], we have to reach a truly global deal in which all countries take on their fair share of the effort needed to prevent dangerous climate change.”