BANGKOK, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- NGOs at the UN Climate Change Talks here on Thursday urged the U.S. to take even bigger step and the U.S. President Barack Obama to play his role in pushing forward the mitigation effort, as a new bill was introduced in U.S. senate.

    "It's great that the US legislation is moving forward, and this is an important precondition for the US to be a part of a global climate agreement in Copenhagen in December. But the proposed bills till needs strengthening. The emissions reduction target is still too weak," said Kim Carstensen, the leader of Global Climate Initiative, World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

    The new climate bill, proposed by Senators John Kerry and Barbara Boxer in the U.S Senate, requires a 20 percent cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020, compared to the 17 percent cut negotiated in the House.

    Carstensen, who is attending the Climate Change Talks in the Thai capital, views this target remains too weak to tackle dangerous consequences of climate change.

    "In order to avoid the worst consequences of climate change we need to see the U.S commit to at least 25 percent emissions reductions from the 1990 level," he said, adding that the U.S needs to rise above its domestic problems, show global leadership and unlock climate talks.

    The bill, which got mixed reactions among U.S. senators, also provides 10 billion dollars over 10 years to support research and development of new carbon capture and sequestration technology, and additional funding to reward "first-movers" who implement the technology.

    "While the bill's pollution cuts are meagre, its subsidies and loopholes for corporate polluters are huge," said Rolf Skar of Green peace, another international NGO, in Bangkok.

    He called on U.S. President Obama to exert his power, saying the threat of catastrophic climate change is too severe for President Obama to allow corporate lobbyists to run the show.

    He pointed out that in contrast to the US Senate bill, large emitters in the developing world, including China and India, have made substantial new commitments to climate action in the lead up to the Bangkok negotiations.

    "What we need now is strong leadership from President Obama - he must reject fossil fuel industry attempts to define the strength of the international climate agreement in Copenhagen," he said, "Obama is the President of the United States - oil and coal industry lobbyists are not."

    The Bangkok talks, from Sept. 28 to Oct. 9, are the second-to-last negotiating session before Copenhagen conference, a summit deemed as the last chance to sign a deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol to avoid the catastrophic global climate change.

    The Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.