The House on Thursday passed a bill aimed at blocking President Donald Trump from pulling the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement, but its chances in the Republican-controlled Senate are bleak.

H.R. 9, or the Climate Action Now Act, passed 231-190. It is the most significant climate change bill the House has passed in a decade.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the bill "is crucial to leaving behind a healthier, safer and more sustainable world for our children and grandchildren."

The bill would direct Trump to develop a plan to meet the country's determined contributions under the Paris agreement, the landmark international treaty aimed at keeping global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels.

It would also block the president from using federal funds to withdraw from the agreement – a move he announced in 2017, although he cannot officially remove the U.S. until 2020 due to the United Nations' withdraw process.

Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., the sponsor of the bill, said earlier this week that the measure is a first step to fighting climate change that has bipartisan support.

Three Republicans voted for the measure: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York and Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida.

But the bill will go "nowhere here in the Senate," according to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

He said House Democrats see the bill as "exciting political theater," saying it would "tie America's own hands for no benefit, while China and our other international competitors go roaring right by."

Earlier this week the White House issued a statement of strong opposition to the bill.

The Paris agreement's goals would put the U.S. at a competitive disadvantage, it said. The bill would "interfere with the Presidents' constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations, including the authority to withdraw from an executive agreement."

