Democrats huddle to salvage climate bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Democrats struggled to salvage climate-change legislation and the leading proponent of the effort said on Thursday it could be tough to get a bill that caps carbon emissions passed.

With November congressional elections fast approaching, Democrats are running out of time to pass a climate bill and are considering several scaled-back options.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid called fellow Democrats to a closed-door meeting in the Capitol to figure out how they can win the 60 votes needed to advance a bill.

Several lawmakers said they might combine climate-change legislation with a bill that would overhaul offshore oil drilling in the wake of the BP oil spill disaster in the hope that they could pick up some Republican support.

Reid could bring that bill to the Senate floor next week.

"I think maybe that can be the front-wheel drive of a piece of legislation coming to the floor in the coming days on energy," Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan told Reuters Insider.

But Senator John Kerry, who is overseeing climate-change efforts, said the chamber would be hard-pressed to complete its work on the bill before it leaves town for the August recess, and acknowledged that it will be "very tough" to pass a bill.

President Barack Obama, who has made action on climate change a priority, has said he wants Congress to act.

The House of Representatives approved a wide-ranging bill last year, but lawmakers and environmentalists are increasingly doubtful a comprehensive bill can pass the Senate this year. If Republicans make gains in the elections, the effort could be stalled for some time.

'KEEP POUNDING AWAY'

Congressional inaction would cast a pall on global talks that have lost momentum after December's summit in Copenhagen.

China, which led a bloc of developing-world countries opposed to mandatory carbon limits, might impose more pollution controls on its economy than the United States. China, the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter, plans to launch a carbon trading market during the next five years to boost energy efficiency, according to the China Daily newspaper.

Obama has pushed the Environmental Protection Agency to take unilateral action if Congress fails to pass a bill. The EPA has begun issuing rules to cut emissions from cars and requiring power plants to have permits to emit carbon dioxide.

Kerry and independent Senator Joe Lieberman had crafted a bill that would imposed carbon caps only on utilities. Previous legislation also would have put caps on emissions from manufacturers and transportation.

Some power companies like Duke Energy want a climate bill so they can move ahead with billions of dollars in investments in new low-carbon power plants.

U.S. scientists have said that this year has been the hottest on record across the world.

Reid may push for a narrower bill that could encourage renewable fuels and revamp offshore drilling.

Kerry was upbeat that a climate bill with carbon caps would eventually pass.

"This is not going to die, absolutely rest assured this is not going away," Kerry told visitors to Congress.

"As long as I am in the Senate and I've got another four years ... we are going to keep pounding away on this."

(Additional reporting by Alina Selyukh and Tom Doggett; writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Russell Blinch and Stacey Joyce)