NDP Leader Jack Layton says Prime Minister Stephen Harper doesn't seem to have a sense of urgency on the climate change issue.

"I think it was a respectful conversation," Layton told CTV Newsnet's Mike Duffy Live on Tuesday, following a 25-minute meeting on Tuesday.

"The question is, is he really willing to move something forward?"

Despite that lack of urgency, "I think the door is open to moving something forward," he said, adding there is ongoing communications between Harper's office and his.

On Monday, Layton declared in question period that the Tories' proposed Clean Air Act was "dead in the water." He asked for a meeting with Harper, and the prime minister agreed.

Sandra Buckler, Harper's director of communications, said Layton asked that a special Commons committee review the Clean Air Act before it goes to second reading.

Layton said that way, all parties could bring forward their best ideas and revamp the legislation if need be.

In the private member's bill he tabled Tuesday morning, there were provisions to start reducing greenhouse gas emissions 13 months from now, Layton said.

The NDP may bring in a non-confidence motion on Thursday if the minority government doesn't move on this issue.

Layton said: "Our goal here is to produce some positive legislation coming out of this parliament one way or the other."

In announcing his bill Tuesday morning, Layton said: "Under this act, action to reduce dangerous gas emissions begins immediately, and the government will be forced to put in place targets within the six months of it being adopted."

The NDP's legislation: The government would be required to publish a plan for interim targets for every five years, as well as regulations published no later than one year from now.

The act also legislates a goal of a 25 per cent reduction by 2020 while the long-term targets legislate an 80 per cent reduction of green house gas emissions by 2050.

The Tory legislation: Contains no short-term targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions - although the government says it will set industry-specific targets next year.

Instead, the bill sets a goal of cutting such emissions to about half of 2003 levels by 2050.

Layton charged that greenhouse gas emissions and pollution won't go down for at least 15 to 20 years under the Conservative plan.

Liberals attack

On Mike Duffy Live, interim Liberal Leader Bill Graham dismissed Layton's moves as a ploy for publicity.

Graham said if the NDP tables a non-confidence motion, his party will take a look, "but we're not going to participate in something that we think is just a stunt to get publicity about this."

Canadians are seriously concerned about climate change, yet Layton's bill was described by one parliamentary secretary as being not so different from the Tories' own bill, he said.

The Liberals are prepared to work with all parties to come up with solid climate change legislation, he said.

"This is a hugely important thing for the globe. It's far to important to play this sort of brinksmanship politics that we've seen in the House today.

"It's great theatre, but it's not good politics in the long run for politics."

He noted that Layton wanted to work one-on-one with the prime minister, yet the NDP and Tories don't have the votes to pass a bill without the support of the two independent members.

The current standings in Parliament are: 124 Conservatives, 101 Liberals, 50 Bloc Quebecois, 29 NDP, 2 independents. There are two vacant seats.

However, he conceded the review of the Clean Air Act might work, but repeated his party would not vote for the bill as it currently stands.

In a news release, John Godfrey, the Liberals' environment critic, said the NDP have abandoned the Kyoto Accord.

Godfrey noted Layton's private member bill doesn't even mention the Kyoto Accord.

That accord, ratified by Parliament, called for Canada to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to six per cent below 1990 levels by 2012.

"To have voted in favour of Bill C-288, which explicitly supports the Kyoto protocol, and then turn around and suggest that you can cut a deal with the government when it suits your political purposes is hypocrisy of the highest order," Liberal MP Pablo Rodriguez said in the release.

The Liberals say Layton's bill doesn't set any emission targets before 2015.