China awaits US climate pledge

United States President Barack Obama will likely head to meetings this month with President Hu Jintao with a fuzzy bottom line about what the US will agree to at December's international climate change summit in Copenhagen. As the two leaders prepare to talk today, the chances of the US passing climate change legislation - the key to the US' negotiating position at the summit - seem slim.

While the US Congress debates a pair of bills, China and the rest of the world are waiting to find out what to, if any, greenhouse gas emissions caps the US will commit. Experts say if Washington does not pass either bill before the Dec 7-18 Copenhagen conference, the US will not agree to any firm numbers. In 1997, the US went to the Kyoto summit without any pre-approved figures from Congress, and Obama doesn't want to be in the same situation this time around.

On Nov 5, House Democrats passed through committee the Kerry-Boxer climate change bill that would mandate cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent from 2005 levels over the next decade. The American Clean Energy and Security Act, approved by the House in June, would reduce emissions 17 percent by 2020. By 2050, both would cut emissions by 72 percent.