Further reducing the impetus, UN climate talks in Copenhagen ended last month with a non-binding agreement to limit warming to 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (two Celsius) that did not set binding targets to reduce the emissions of gases scientists say are heating up the world's atmosphere to dangerous levels.

Among the thorniest problems facing a possible US law is striking an agreement on creating a "cap-and-trade" market for greenhouse gases that would force heavy polluters to buy credits from companies that pollute less, creating financial incentives to fight global warming.

Most Democrats -- who enjoy a majority in both houses of Congress -- and environmental groups see the proposed system as a cornerstone of the fight against the heat-trapping gases, hoping to reach an international agreement by the end of the year to legally bind other countries to also reduce emissions.

In Copenhagen, President Barack Obama acknowledged "it is going to be very hard and it's going to take some time" to reach such an accord.

Finger-pointing and sharp recriminations followed the United Nations summit's final agreement, which has been widely panned for failing to oblige countries to carry out concrete greenhouse gas emissions cuts.

Todd Stern, the US climate envoy, told investors in New York Thursday it was "tremendously important" for the Senate to act on some form of climate legislation.

The US House of Representatives has already passed legislation on renewable energy and curbing greenhouse gases, but the Senate has yet to take up its own version of the bill.

At the UN climate talks, Obama proposed to reduce US emission by 17 percent by 2020 off 2005 levels, an offer that hinges on congressional approval.

"It's a very difficult environment in the US right now," said Michael Levi of the Council on Foreign Relations.

He pointed to a tense political and economic climate complicated even more by 10 percent unemployment and a raging debate over a bill to overhaul the beleaguered US health care system, Obama's top domestic priority.

Around half of the energy supply in the United States, the world's second-biggest polluter after China, comes from coal.

With November's elections on the horizon, lawmakers have expressed concerns that US action, absent commitments from rising economic powers like China and India, would barely dent the problem while costing jobs, mostly in already struggling industrial US states and others dependent on fossil fuels.

"American people care more about health care, the budget deficit," said Frank Maisano, a lobbyist with Bracewell & Giuliani, a firm representing the energy industry.

"Part of the problem is the residual impact of any climate legislation, which is an increased cost, and you don't go in an election period telling people you are going to increase cost," he told AFP.

Many Republicans in Congress remain deeply skeptical about adopting a market-based mechanism to cut carbon emissions, fearing it may hit the competitiveness of US firms and products on global markets, particularly while China and India refuse to make concessions in tandem.

US Chamber of Commerce president Tom Donohue urged lawmakers Tuesday to reconsider climate regulations he warned could raise costs and hamper recovery from the worst economic recession in decades.

"Congress, the administration and the states must recognize that our weak economy simply could not sustain all the new taxes, regulations and mandates now under consideration. It's a sure recipe for a double-dip recession, or worse," he said.

Steve Eule, vice president of climate at the Chamber, said "it's possible to have a compromise... but it won't be easy."

Senators John Kerry, Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman are proposing to increase the use of nuclear energy, offshore oil and gas exploration, as well as step up energy efficiency and new techologies to reduce costs and possibly skirt a cap-and-trade system.

But that proposal likely will not sit well with many Democrats who champion the emissions market plan.

"We would all prefer a really good economy-wide cap-and-trade system. It's the best, the most efficient," said Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change and Strategies for the Global Environment.

"But if we cannot get it, I don't want to end up with nothing. I want to end up with something that really starts to address this problem."

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