"Paris Climate Deal Unlikely To Need Senate Approval, Says US Envoy"

"Todd Stern tells Capitol Hill committee new UN climate deal will be crafted under existing treaties, bypassing requirements for lawmaker approval".

"Republicans will be fuming. The rest of the world may breathe a little easier. The US Senate is unlikely to have a veto over a proposed global climate deal.

That is the view of Todd Stern, climate envoy to President Barack Obama, who says the pact under discussion will not require a new treaty or new US laws.

Stern was speaking during an interrogation by Senators on Capitol Hill, a venue with distinctly mixed views on the UN and efforts to crack down on greenhouse gas emissions.

Quizzed on whether the US would find itself locked into international emission cuts, Stern insisted that was not the case. 'We are looking for something that is not binding,' he said."

Ed King reports for Climate Home October 21, 2015.

SEE ALSO:

"GOP: Obama Circumventing Senate in Paris Climate Deal Talks" (The Hill)