Wed Nov 4, 2015 12:52pm EST

U.S. presidential hopeful Sanders unveils climate change bill

WASHINGTON | BY AMANDA BECKER

Democratic presidential contender Bernie Sanders on Wednesday unveiled a climate-change bill that would crack down on fossil fuel extraction, a move sure to please activists who want party front-runner Hillary Clinton to make the same commitment.

Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, wants to halt new leases for fossil fuel extraction on public lands and for offshore drilling in the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico. He would prohibit drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic Ocean.

Sanders pushed for the proposal at a rally at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, alongside environmental leaders such as Bill McKibben, co-founder of the grassroots climate group 350.org.

The bill, which Sanders introduced with a fellow Democrat, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, will face fierce opposition in the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress and is unlikely to become law.

But it should help Sanders appeal to environmental activists and could pressure Clinton, who has said that abruptly halting extraction on federal lands would disrupt the U.S. economy.

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