At an Earth Day hearing on climate change in the House of Representatives, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the United States faced a "defining challenge" if it wanted to avert two looming dangers.

"The first is that the world will fail to take action on climate change in time to prevent its worst potential effects," the Nobel laureate physicist told the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

"The second is that the United States will fail to seize the opportunity to lead, and the new clean energy jobs will be created overseas rather than in America," Chu said.

"We can neither let our planet get too hot nor let our economy grow too cold. We must get off the sidelines of the clean energy race and play to win."

Congress has begun examining a Democratic-led bill that aims to cut US carbon emissions by 20 percent from their 2005 levels by 2020, and dramatically boost reliance on renewable energy.

Obama argues that with the future of the planet at stake, the United States must now take the lead on global warming after years of denial under the former administration of George W. Bush.

His administration wants the bill agreed by the end of the year, ahead of the president's planned trip to Copenhagen for a UN climate change conference in December.

Last week, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases pose a health risk, a landmark step in the push for climate regulation.

The House bill also calls for a cap-and-trade system to cut carbon emissions so as to force heavy polluters to buy credits from companies that pollute less, creating financial incentives to fight global warming.

EPA chief Lisa Jackson rejected "doomsday scenarios about runaway costs."

The costs of cap and trade "would be modest compared to the benefits that science and plain common sense tell us a comprehensive energy and climate policy will deliver," she told the hearing.

But senior Republicans on the committee queried the scientific consensus on climate change and stressed the costs at a time of economic distress for millions of US families.

"If energy prices go up, lots and lots of Americans are going to lose their jobs," said Joe Barton of Texas, who reiterated his belief that mankind is not responsible for any planetary warming that may be occurring.

Michigan Republican Fred Upton read out a clutch of newspaper headlines pointing to the reluctance of China and India to sign up to binding commitments to reduce carbon emissions at Copenhagen.

He quipped that China probably has undiscovered coal-fired power plants, following new research showing that the ancient Great Wall is much longer than previously estimated.

But Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, one of two Republicans in Obama's cabinet, touted the economic benefits of greening the US automobile fleet, expanding high-speed rail and upgrading local transport options.

"My department is working aggressively to implement these forward-thinking policies and other measures that will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and improve the lives of Americans," he said at the hearing.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi vowed Tuesday that Congress would pass global warming legislation by the end of the year. "On Earth Day next year, we will celebrate the progress we've made," she said.

But the bill's prospects appear far less certain in the Senate, where its goals face opposition not only from most Republicans but also from key Democrats representing industrial states.

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