As politicians in the US continue to try and push through the controversial climate change bill, a new survey shows that Americans do not rate the issue as a high priority.

Senator Kerry has been a key figure in trying to pass the bill, which was unveiled in the Senate earlier this month.

The legislation proposes a 17 per cent cut in carbon emissions by the year 2020 and placing a price on carbon for some of the nation’s largest polluters. Controversially, in the light of the Gulf of Mexico oil leak, it also contains provisions for offshore drilling.

Yet, new figures produced by the Pew Research Centre for the People and the Press show that just 32 percent of people believe that tackling climate change is a priority for congress.

This is in comparison with the 67 per cent who believe that dealing with the country’s energy needs is of high importance, suggesting that few believe the two issues are intrinsically linked.

The news comes at the same time as a report by the Peterson Institute for International Economics which predicts that the bill will create a significant number of jobs in the coming years.

It predicted that between 2011 and 2030 “average annual employment [will be] 6,300 jobs higher than business as usual”.