Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Barack Obama

Senate Climate Bill Delayed Yet Again As Obama Takes Nobel

As my colleague Ryan wrote earlier, the congressional climate change bill no represents the most meaningful path for urbanists, and advocates for clean transportation in general, to make their voices heard in the national debate.

Obama_Nobel_1499199c.jpgPresident Obama, accepting the Nobel Peace Prize today. (Photo: AP)

So it bears repeating that the bill is losing momentum, with the Senate environment committee unlikely to take up its version until next month. And that legislative slowdown is already having international consequences:

The U.S. may not agree to cutgreenhouse-gas emissions in a new treaty this year because thereis no domestic law setting a framework, the country’s topnegotiator said at United Nations climate talks in Bangkok.

Without legislation advancing in Congress, it will bedifficult for the world’s biggest economy to pledge an emissionstarget for itself, U.S. negotiator Jonathan Pershing toldreporters today as negotiations wound up in the Thai capital.

“It will be extraordinarily difficult for the U.S. tocommit to a specific number in the absence of action fromCongress,” Pershing said. “The question is open as to how muchwe can do. It’s not really possible to answer.”

Supporters of the Senate climate bill -- including President Obama -- have downplayed the significance of passing a Senate climate bill before talks on global emissions reductions begin in Copenhagen in December. Foreign relations committee chairman John Kerry (D-MA), the bill's chief sponsor, has even suggested that the bill has a stronger chance of winning Senate approval than any treaty signed at Copenhagen, which would have to secure a two-thirds majority in the upper chamber of Congress.

But if the U.S. continues backing away from setting a broad emissions target this year, it could result in a further loss of momentum for the Senate climate bill, setting up a vicious cycle of sorts. And all this on a day when Obama takes the Nobel Peace Prize for helping America "[play] a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting.”

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Monday’s Headlines Are Going to M-A-R-S, Mars!

Acting NASA director Sean Duffy apparently has too much on his plate to do any research into transit safety.

September 15, 2025

How Millions For Transit, Walking, and Biking Could Vanish On Sept. 30

The Trump administration may be deliberately slow-walking contracts for hard-earned transportation dollars.

September 15, 2025

Friday Video: An ‘Oh the Urbanity’/Streetfilms Montréal Mashup

Find out why the City of a Hundred Steeples is so magnifique.

September 12, 2025

Sharing Is Caring for Friday’s Headlines

Young adults are driving less, and that may have something to do with the rise of shared micromobility devices.

September 12, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: This Boat is Doing Something Amazing for Transit!

Could a simple sale of old train cars inspire a new generation of transit fans down in Lima, Peru? It's all part of a very special edition of our podcast.

September 11, 2025

In Trade Deal With Trump, Europe Sells Out its Pedestrians

The new trade deal between the European Union and the U.S. means that pedestrians from Lisbon to Helsinki will be endangered by big, American-made trucks.

September 11, 2025
See all posts