Progress on the domestic climate bill reaches its end for 2009. (image: change.org)

Well, it’s all but official: there will not, in all likelihood, be a climate bill passed this year, reports the Wall Street Journal. On Tuesday, key Senate Democrats said there probably not be any more major committee action on climate-change legislation, signaling that a comprehensive bill to cut greenhouse gas emissions will have to wait until next year.

Climate change leaders around the world would naturally prefer to see a Senate bill passed by the time of the Copenhagen summit. However, according to Carter Roberts, CEO of the World Wildlife Fund, it may be enough for senators to release a blueprint for action and demonstrate efforts to fashion a compromise.

A climate bill should have a “credible cap, strong international provisions and flexibility to move to solutions within a fairly urgent timetable,” Roberts said, adding that the US shows leadership on climate change, other nations will follow. And if President Obama attends the conference to “close the deal,” as it was reported yesterday, his presence will make a strong statement about the seriousness of US efforts to pass climate legislation.

Although the Senate Environment Committee did approve a version of the bill, there is opposition from moderate Democrats, especially from senators on the Finance and Agriculture committees.

“It’s common understanding that climate-change legislation will not be brought up on the Senate floor and pass the Senate this year,” Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) said, adding that although he planned to hold hearings on climate legislation and eventually mark up a bill, he didn’t know if he could put it together this year.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev), whose plate has been overflowing this year with debate on healthcare legislation and finance reform has dropped his earlier schedules for committees, and an aide said that the leader hasn’t drafted any new timetables on climate change.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, a moderate Democrat from Michigan, is taking the lead on making an effort to protect manufacturing and agriculture industries. She said the Agriculture Committee—which has jurisdiction over climate provisions fundamental to containing costs and cutting emissions in the farming and forestry sectors—might not even debate or vote on any provisions for the bill, especially since committees were no longer under any timetables to produce legislation.

Even Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), who has been a leader on the climate bill, has conceded that he is more focused on getting the 60 votes necessary to pass a bill than erecting deadlines which may be unrealistic. “The main thing to do here is to build the adequate base of support and consensus,” he said.