Reuters reports that debate on reducing carbon emissions is in “legislative limbo”. A draft proposal of almost 1000 pages was issued last week, but little has been done to get it on the US Senate’s agenda.
Senator John Kerry highlighted the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill which “should also drive a serious national dialogue and a debate on legislation this year to advance our nation’s clean energy future.”
But others in the Senate are skeptical of the bill even getting discussed in 2010. Senator Carl Levin told Reuters “My feeling is it’s not going to be coming up this year, but if it does I will dig into it at great depth.”
Green lobbyists are speculating that the overly complicated 1000-page proposal was tailor made for filibustering - the Senate’s means of preventing legislation ever being passed by excessive debates.