President Obama today put his weight behind frantic last-minute efforts to push Congress into backing fiercely contested legislation on climate change as he declared: “We cannot be afraid of the future, we cannot be prisoners of the past.”

The American Clean Energy and Security Act would cut greenhouse gas emissions by 17 per cent over the next decade — far less than reductions being made in Europe but still the first significant step towards countering global warming from a country that has long been the world’s biggest polluter.

Although Democratic leaders say that they have enough votes for the Bill to be passed in the House of Representatives tomorrow, they are still working overtime to force some of their ranks, particularly fiscal conservatives and those from farming states, into line.

Republicans are almost unanimous in opposition. "Why aren't we focusing on trying to do something about this economy?" the House Republican Whip, Eric Cantor, asked. "Instead, priority one ... this week is imposing a huge national energy tax. There's just a huge disconnect."

The 1,200-page Bill would create a "cap-and-trade" system limiting overall pollution from large industrial sources and then allocating and selling pollution permits.

"We are going to create a green energy revolution — not only for our country but for the entire world," the Democratic Representative Ed Markey, one of the lead authors of the Bill, said.

The Bill would require utilities, by 2020, to get 15 per cent of their electricity from renewable resources — solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass — and show annual energy savings of 5 per cent from efficiency measures.

The EU plan calls for getting 20 per cent of all electricity from renewable resources by 2020.

The Environmental Protection Agency released a study this week showing that implementing the legislation would cost $80-$111 per American household a year, while the Congressional Budget Office says that it would be about $175.

Republicans have dismissed those relatively modest figures, pointing to a study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology that they say shows a $3,100 cost.

The former Vice-President Al Gore, who has won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts on global warming, had been due to appear at a Washington press conference today to talk about the issue. This was cancelled amid suggestions that his presence could alienate wavering members of Congress. Instead, he was telephoning selected individuals from his home in Tennessee.

Mr Obama, speaking in the Rose Garden of the White House, was careful to pitch his remarks at those who want to cut America’s dependence on foreign oil for reasons of national security or create new jobs in clean-fuel technology. A series of concessions have been made to the farmers who were worried about whether they would still qualify for lucrative subsidies.

The President emphasised that the cost of the measure to the average household would be equivalent to a "postage stamp each day", as he said: "I know this is going to be a close vote because there is misinformation out there."

Although the Bill faces an even tougher battle to be passed in the Senate, the White House is desperate for some success in Congress amid signs that it is losing momentum on other key pieces of legislation such as healthcare.

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