US President Barack Obama has officially given up hope of enacting a cap-and-trade plan to limit the emissions of greenhouse gases that are blamed for global warming, dpa reporting.
The system that would have made companies pay for their climate- damaging pollution was not included in Obama's 2012 federal budget proposals presented on Monday to Congress. Cap-and-trade had been a part of previous budget proposals but never passed Congress.
The initiative was once the centrepiece of Obama's climate policies, but ran into massive opposition in Congress from conservatives and some lawmakers from his own Democratic Party who viewed the measure as overly harmful to the US economy.
Cap-and-trade is used in Europe to limit pollution and is being considered by a number of other countries. Under the system, the government would set an overall limit on pollution levels and allocate permits that can be traded between cleaner and dirtier companies.
Despite the setback, Obama has insisted his administration has not given up on a pledge made internationally to limit greenhouse gases 17 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020
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