Democrats in the US House of Representatives are nearing a compromise on an energy and climate change bill, according to Democratic sources.
The sources said Democratic lawmakers, who enjoy majorities in both houses of Congress, reached an agreement late Tuesday on a goal to reduce greenhouse gases by 17 percent from their 2005 levels by 2020.
The figure was lower than an initial goal of 20 percent reductions by 2020 included in the first draft of the bill unveiled in late March.
Both Republican legislators and Democrats from industrial and coal states, such as North Carolina and Michigan, have opposed the measure, which was spearheaded by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman and Edward Markey, chairman of one of the panel's subcommittees.
Negotiations are expected to continue this week on how to auction off polluter permits under a "cap-and-trade" system to fight climate change under which companies would buy rights to emit greenhouse gases from firms that use less energy and pollute less.
The proposal, which has strong backing from the Obama administration, would allow energy-intensive industries, such as steel, paper and glass manufacturing, to obtain rights to pollute.
Although many details are still being negotiated, Waxman said he was confident he would obtain enough votes from his committee to give the bill a green light.
President Barack Obama, who is set to attend international climate change talks in Copenhagen in December, called last month for a "green revolution" in the United States.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), meanwhile, announced in mid-April that it would consider carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases a health risk.
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