ELVIS
06-23-2010, 11:16 AM
June 22 2010 (http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2ca8a864-7e1e-11df-8478-00144feabdc0.html)
Barack Obama will on Wednesday make a renewed push to spur the US Senate into action on climate change, saying the BP oil spill underlines the urgency for the country to lessen its dependence on fossil fuels.
The US president will host senators from both parties at the White House – including those who have proposed variations on a climate change bill – but analysts are sceptical about whether he can overcome the political impasse on a proposal that is seen as essentially a tax.
“The oil spill has dramatically increased the urgency for the need to act,” said Daniel Weiss of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. “But I’m not looking for any breakthrough at the meeting. I think President Obama wants to listen to various concerns and follow up on various ideas.”
Since he was a presidential candidate, Mr Obama has been promoting legislation that would put a cap on carbon emissions from polluters but allow them to buy permits to emit more.
That effort ground to a halt in the Senate, but has moved back into the spotlight, thanks to the oil spill.
“The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now,” the president said in a televised address last week.
The president will meet senators on Wednesday including Republicans Lisa Murkowski, Richard Lugar, Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins, all of whom have put forward bills for promoting cleaner energy or limiting carbon emissions.
Democrats John Kerry, Barbara Boxer, Jeff Bingaman and Maria Cantwell, who have also been involved in drafting legislation, will also be there, as will Joe Lieberman, an independent.
“The president is going to talk about the progress, talk about what we need to do to get a deal and actually move some legislation forward,” said Bill Burton, a White House spokesman.
Mitch McConnell, Republican leader in the Senate, who has called cap-and-trade a “national energy tax”, has accused Mr Obama of trying to take political advantage of the oil spill.
A cap-and-trade bill passed through the House of Representatives last year but the process stalled in the Senate amid objections from Democrats representing industrial or rural states. Partisan rancour means aligned Republicans have backed away too.
That has made a simple energy bill – to boost energy efficiency and cut greenhouse gas emissions – look more feasible than a comprehensive climate change bill.
“It’s hard to see how, in this economic environment, they could get the critical element – a price on carbon – through the Senate,” says Thomas Mann, a congressional expert at the Brookings Institution. “But I can imagine them getting an energy bill through.”
Mr Obama backs cap-and-trade but is open to options. “He wants to listen to some of the other ideas,” Mr Burton said.
The leading climate bill, put forward by Mr Kerry and Mr Lieberman, would use a cap-trade system, taxing greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power stations and oil refineries.
Mr Lieberman at the weekend said he would be willing to limit the bill, starting just with utilities.
Ms Cantwell, a Democrat, and Ms Collins, a Republican, are pushing a “cap-and-dividend” approach. Instead of setting up a carbon emission trading market, this would give rebates to utility customers. Mr Lugar’s bill has no cap but would offer incentives for non-fossil energy sources.
:elvis:
Barack Obama will on Wednesday make a renewed push to spur the US Senate into action on climate change, saying the BP oil spill underlines the urgency for the country to lessen its dependence on fossil fuels.
The US president will host senators from both parties at the White House – including those who have proposed variations on a climate change bill – but analysts are sceptical about whether he can overcome the political impasse on a proposal that is seen as essentially a tax.
“The oil spill has dramatically increased the urgency for the need to act,” said Daniel Weiss of the Center for American Progress Action Fund. “But I’m not looking for any breakthrough at the meeting. I think President Obama wants to listen to various concerns and follow up on various ideas.”
Since he was a presidential candidate, Mr Obama has been promoting legislation that would put a cap on carbon emissions from polluters but allow them to buy permits to emit more.
That effort ground to a halt in the Senate, but has moved back into the spotlight, thanks to the oil spill.
“The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now,” the president said in a televised address last week.
The president will meet senators on Wednesday including Republicans Lisa Murkowski, Richard Lugar, Lindsey Graham and Susan Collins, all of whom have put forward bills for promoting cleaner energy or limiting carbon emissions.
Democrats John Kerry, Barbara Boxer, Jeff Bingaman and Maria Cantwell, who have also been involved in drafting legislation, will also be there, as will Joe Lieberman, an independent.
“The president is going to talk about the progress, talk about what we need to do to get a deal and actually move some legislation forward,” said Bill Burton, a White House spokesman.
Mitch McConnell, Republican leader in the Senate, who has called cap-and-trade a “national energy tax”, has accused Mr Obama of trying to take political advantage of the oil spill.
A cap-and-trade bill passed through the House of Representatives last year but the process stalled in the Senate amid objections from Democrats representing industrial or rural states. Partisan rancour means aligned Republicans have backed away too.
That has made a simple energy bill – to boost energy efficiency and cut greenhouse gas emissions – look more feasible than a comprehensive climate change bill.
“It’s hard to see how, in this economic environment, they could get the critical element – a price on carbon – through the Senate,” says Thomas Mann, a congressional expert at the Brookings Institution. “But I can imagine them getting an energy bill through.”
Mr Obama backs cap-and-trade but is open to options. “He wants to listen to some of the other ideas,” Mr Burton said.
The leading climate bill, put forward by Mr Kerry and Mr Lieberman, would use a cap-trade system, taxing greenhouse gas emissions from coal-fired power stations and oil refineries.
Mr Lieberman at the weekend said he would be willing to limit the bill, starting just with utilities.
Ms Cantwell, a Democrat, and Ms Collins, a Republican, are pushing a “cap-and-dividend” approach. Instead of setting up a carbon emission trading market, this would give rebates to utility customers. Mr Lugar’s bill has no cap but would offer incentives for non-fossil energy sources.
:elvis: