After taking over control of the House of Representatives and the Senate in last week's elections, Democrats have begun to push President Bush into accepting hard limits on greenhouse gas emissions.

Barbara Boxer of California, Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico and Joe Lieberman of Connecticut - three powerful Democrats who will be heading key environmental committees - issued a letter to Bush yesterday urging the President to urged Bush to work with them "to signal to the world that global warming legislation is on the way."

"The recent elections have signaled a need to change direction in many areas, including global warming," the senators wrote. "If we are to leave our children a world that resembles the earth we inherited, we must act now to address GHG (greenhouse gas) emissions.

"When the 110th Congress begins in January, we pledge to work to pass an effective system of mandatory limits on greenhouse gases."

The battle will be a tough one, as Bush's representative to the UN Climate Conference, Paula Dobriansky, reaffirmed the US government's anti-Kyoto stance. It remains to see if the new balance of power in Washington will result in action on global warming or legislative gridlock.

Boxer is the incoming chairwoman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Bingaman is to chair the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and Lieberman will chair the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.