US Senate upholds greenhouse gas rules ‎

The US Senate on Thursday beat back an effort led by President Barack Obama’s Republican foes to curb the US government’s power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions tied to global warming.

After a bitter debate focused on stalled efforts to advance comprehensive legislation to battle climate change, lawmakers voted 53-47 to block action on a resolution authored by Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of oil-rich Alaska.

Murkowski’s measure would have barred the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) from moving to restrict carbon emissions from vehicles and industrial activity — notably power plants — under the US Clean Air Act.

The legislative battle stemmed from a 2007 decision by the US Supreme Court requiring the government to decide whether carbon dioxide gas emissions pose a threat to human health.

The EPA subsequently issued an “endangerment finding” that greenhouse gases threaten public health and welfare.

But with November mid-term elections dominating the US political landscape, the debate over the resolution centered on potential job-losses from EPA action and on the pros and cons of a more sweeping effort to fight climate change.

AFP