Hailed as a historic vote that will establish the US as a player in upcoming international climate talks the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) narrowly passed through the House of Representatives last night by a vote of 219-212.

The vote followed party lines with only eight republicans voting in favor and 44 democrats voting against. Curiously enough, the bill would not have passed without the support of the eight republicans.

Also known as the Waxman-Markey Bill, the first major environmental bill of the Obama administration will introduce as its centerpiece a soft cap and trade program for greenhouse gas emissions. The voluntary cap and trade program will supercede those programs that have been developed by individual states from 2012-2017.

The contentious cap and trade program is the first of its kind since a similar system was enacted in 1990 in an effort to reduce sulfur emissions that cause acid rain.

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