Despite many promises and strong support from president Obama, US still failed to pass cap-and- trade legislation, as there is still not enough political will for such action, or as some others would say fossil fuels lobbies are still too powerful. The only somewhat good news came from climate negotiator Todd Stern who recently said that despite the failure of cap-and-trade legislation US won’t change its target for 2020 to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by approximately 17 percent.If you follow what's happening with climate change legislation in United States then you already know that The House approved a bill last year to set limits on carbon emissions linked to climate change but this bill stalled in Senate. Though cap-and-trade legislation would be more than welcome passing this bill will take some time, and in the meantime Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) needs to step in, and use existing laws to at least regulate some sources of carbon pollution.
By the current looks of it, EPA will not be afraid to use these laws, and the EPA regulation planned for next year will set the U.S.’s first nationwide limits on greenhouse-gas pollution in the effort to curb global warming. This is a clear sign that EPA will continue pushing forward towards the adequate climate change legislation.
Many political analysts believe that the adequate domestic climate change legislation is the key to success to the international climate deal. Copenhagen was yet another big failure on international stage, mainly because US failed to give positive examples to other countries. Hopefully, this situation will soon improve.
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