The 1,000-page bill aims to cut US greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming by 17 per cent below 2005 levels by the year 2020 and 83 per cent by 2050. The legislation also requires utilities to generate 15 per cent of their electricity supplies by 2020 from renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar power. The House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee, with a mostly partisan vote of 33-25, embraced Mr Obama’s "cap and trade" climate change initiative — one of the President’s top legislative priorities this year along with healthcare reform. Representative Henry Waxman, the committee’s chairman, said the bill advanced because it had "substantial support from industry, labour and environmental groups from across the country."

Among the major US companies that have endorsed a cap and trade programme are Alcoa, DuPont, Caterpillar Inc and a coalition of electric power companies. With the panel’s vote, the measure moved closer to a vote in the full House, which could occur by August after other committees review and possibly refine the legislation.

The White House is hoping that at least significant progress will aid efforts culminating in December in Copenhagen for a new international pact on cutting industrial emissions.