Many Democrats don’t want to vote in this election year on whether to cap the greenhouse-gas emissions linked to climate change, saying they prefer to work in the coming months on legislation directly responding to the spill. “The climate bill isn’t going to stop the oil leak,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat. “The first thing you have to do is stop the oil leak.”

By Lisa Lerer and Simon Lomax at Bloomberg.com

The BP Plc oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is unlikely to create enough momentum to pass a comprehensive climate bill sought by President Barack Obama, say leading Senate Democrats.

Many Democrats don’t want to vote in this election year on whether to cap the greenhouse-gas emissions linked to climate change, saying they prefer to work in the coming months on legislation directly responding to the spill.

“The climate bill isn’t going to stop the oil leak,” said Senator Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat. “The first thing you have to do is stop the oil leak.”

Obama, in a speech to the nation last night, praised a climate plan passed by the House last year and said the U.S. “can’t afford not to change how we produce and use energy.” Earlier this month, he said the only way to develop clean energy is by “finally putting a price on carbon pollution.”

The House voted last June to create the first national limits on greenhouse-gas emissions. The measure would regulate carbon dioxide from power plants, refineries and factories through a cap-and-trade program in which companies buy and sell a declining number of pollution rights.

Senator John Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat who introduced similar legislation in his chamber last month, said yesterday that it doesn’t have the votes yet needed to overcome a Republican filibuster.

FULL STORY

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