US emissions bill "might not pass in time"

       The passage of a US bill capping carbon emissions before a major UN climate conference in December would help the United States extract concessions from other countries, though time is running out, the chief US negotiator at climate talks in Bangkok said yesterday.
       "The more specific we can be, the easier it is to press others to be equally specific," Jonathan Pershing said. "We have a lot of things we want from countries. We want significant action from other developed and developing countries ... The less we can put on the table, the harder it is to achieve that outcome."
       Nations will meet in Copenhagen at the year's end to try to reach a deal to replace the Kyodo Protocol, which expires in 2012. The US House of Representatives in June passed the first US legislation to cap carbon emissions. The Senate is embroiled in the health-care debate, but it is expected to take up the proposed law early as this week.
       Pershing said he doubted there's enough time to pass a bill and acknowledged that will put the Obama administration at a "bit of a disadvantage" when it negotiates such issues as emissions targets, financing levels and commitments from developed countries.
       Negotiations over a UN climate pact resume todya in Bangkok, where some 1,500 delegates from 180 countries will try to reduce the 200-page draft agreement to something more manageable.