US expected to lead efforts on climate change

US President Barack Obama should draw inspiration from Europe and make stronger commitments to combat global warming, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said last week.

Sarkozy called for more US action as lawmakers in Washington began debating legislation aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions and other pollutants.

"It's a great opportunity for us to have President Obama and we must help him succeed because the United States is the world's top economy," Sarkozy said.

"We have to be able to convince President Obama that the pledges he has made on the environment are great news... but he must go further and perhaps even draw inspiration from what the Europeans are doing," he said.

US lawmakers on Monday kicked off debate on legislation creating a "cap and trade" system for curbing pollution blamed for global warming amid stiff Republican opposition.

Obama's Democratic allies, who control the Senate and House of Representatives, hope the bill will lend momentum to December global climate change talks in Copenhagen.

The US bill would require utilities to get 15 per cent of their electricity from renewable resources such as solar, wind and geothermal by 2020. The European Union plan calls for getting 20 per cent of all electricity from renewable resources by 2020.

"Once we have convinced the United States, Europe and the United States will hand-in-hand persuade emerging powers China, India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa that they too must take part in this fight to preserve the planet's equilibrium," said Sarkozy.

The US measure aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 17 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020. Europe has pledged to cut its own emissions by at least 20 per cent from 1990 levels by 2020, and 30 per cent if other advanced economies follow suit.

Meanwhile, these efforts by the White House coincided with an announcement where President Barack Obama unveiled "historic" efficiency and greenhouse gas standards for US cars.

Automakers will be forced to dramatically boost the efficiency of cars and light trucks by 2016, in a move that will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil and achieve cuts of 900 million metric tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.