Obama officials urge Senate to act on climate

WASHINGTON (AP) — Four of President Barack Obama’s top environmental and energy officials are urging the Senate to pass legislation to reduce emissions of the gases linked to global warming.

The heads of the Energy Department, Agriculture Department, Interior Department and Environmental Protection Agency told a Senate panel Tuesday they should pass a bill similar to one the House narrowly cleared late last month. That legislation would impose the first limits on greenhouse gases, reducing them by 80 percent by mid-century.

The hearing before the Environment and Public Works committee starts the Senate’s work on a climate bill. Senate leaders want a vote on the measure this fall, in advance of talks on a new global treaty to reduce heat-trapping gases.

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