A Time for Action
President Obama's first Oval Office address was highly anticipated, as there is mounting criticism of the Administration's management of the BP oil spill. Supporters of climate and clean energy legislation eagerly gathered around their televisions in hopes that the President would provide the much needed road map detailing how this tragedy should transform American thinking on energy policy going forward.
However, many were left disappointed as the President did not answer some key questions nor did he set forth specific expectations for the Senate's summer session. There was considerable rhetoric about the country's oil addiction and the need for compelling and immediate clean energy legislation, but President Obama offered few specifics, although he seemed to provide some support for combining elements of several bills. However, the President, did not go so far as to mention a price on carbon, raising the tax on gasoline, or placing a cap on greenhouse gas emissions.
While the President's remarks could be seen as a big blow to Senators. John Kerry (D-Massashusetts) and Joe Lieberman (I-Connecticut), co-authors of a Senate cap-and-trade bill, in a joint statement they said that Obama has joined their fight.
"There can be no doubt that the president is rolling up his sleeves to ensure we establish a market mechanism to tackle carbon pollution, create hundreds of thousands of new jobs each year, strengthen energy independence, and improve the quality of the air we breathe," the two senators said.
In addition to the Kerry-Lieberman package, other legislative potentials include the Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman's (D-New Mexico) bill (S. 1462) which includes a renewable energy standard; a more ambitious renewable energy target found in bill co-sponsored by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota) and Senator Snowe (R-Maine) S. 862, an alternative to the traditional ideas on pricing carbon (S. 2877) from Senators Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) and Susan Collins (R-Maine); and a bill (S. 3464) promoting energy efficiency from Senators Richard Lugar (R-Indiana) and Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina).
Prior to the speech, Senator Lieberman indicated that he hoped President Obama would emphasize the need for a market mechanism for pricing carbon.
"The truth is, trying to make America energy independent without creating a market mechanism to price carbon, would be the equivalent of President Kennedy launching our national effort to put a man on the moon without building a rocket," Lieberman said. "It's that important, and any alternative legislation being proposed -- including some that has some good stuff in it -- that doesn't do something to price carbon, will not unleash the billions and billions of dollars in the private sector that are waiting for that signal to put their money into clean alternative energy sources for our society."
The President stated that "the one approach I will not accept is inaction." The President is correct in this regard, as there has been a lot of talk for a long time. Yet, some specifics from the White House would be useful right now.
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