U.S. energy bill

WASHINGTON, May 13 (UPI) -- A U.S. Senate measure said to make the United States a "clean-energy leader," mandates a cut in carbon emissions of 17 percent in the next 10 years.

The bill, introduced Wednesday by Sens. John Kerry, D-Mass., and Joe Lieberman, Ind-Conn., also would ease regulations on offshore drilling for oil, a segment likely to face scrutiny in the wake of the oil rig explosion and resulting spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The proposed bill includes incentives of as much as $2 billion for the development of "clean coal" technology and support for nuclear power.

"We can finally tell the world that America is ready to take back our role as the world's clean energy leader," Kerry said Wednesday.

Many other countries are waiting for Congress to move on energy legislation ahead of the U.N. climate meeting in Mexico later this year. Those sessions are seen as vital to develop a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, an international effort to limit greenhouse gas emissions and fight global climate change.

A meeting last year in Denmark failed to reach agreement on such a plan for many reasons, including U.S. legislative recalcitrance to take action on the issue. The United States is the world's No. 2 carbon emitter, behind only China.

The bill isn't likely to receive consideration until the summer and Kerry and Lieberman are still looking for Republican support. They lost a key backer when Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., backed off when the Obama administration and Senate Democratic leadership decided to act on immigration measures rather than the energy bill.