| Barack Obama has put himself firmly
behind the effort to get a climate change bill through Congress
- but said it must include a new generation of nuclear power.
The brief passage on energy and climate in Obama's state
of the union address last week did deliver the signal Congress
and much of the world had been seeking that the White House
is ready to throw itself into the effort to pass legislation.
"This year, I am eager to help advance the bipartisan effort
in the Senate," he said.
However, Obama made it clear that he supported a "bipartisan"
effort, which would incorporate energy policies that are popular
among Republicans - and fiercely opposed by the liberal wing
of his own party.
"That means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear
power plants in this country. It means making tough decisions
about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development.
It means continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean
coal technologies," Obama said.
The endorsement for nuclear power and especially offshore
drilling will be difficult for some Democratic voters to swallow.
Most of the instant reaction to the speech from environmental
groups was positive - though few commented directly on Obama's
support for nuclear power or drilling.
However, the Centre for Biological Diversity was scathing.
"A clean energy economy does not include continued reliance
on dirty coal and further risky drilling for oil in fragile
offshore areas," the centre's director, Kieran Suckling said
in a statement. "The president failed tonight - as he failed
over the past twelve months - to use his bully pulpit to advocate
a bright line goal for greenhouse gas reductions. "
Obama's endorsement of a nuclear renaissance - 30 years since
the last new nuclear plant - was calculated to help the efforts
of Democratic Senator John Kerry and Republican Lindsey Graham
craft a compromise bill that could get broad support in the
Senate.
The house narrowly passed a climate change bill last June,
but the effort has bogged down in the Senate.
The two Senators told reporters that they were closely focused
on pulling in Republican support and damping down fears among
Democratic senators from oil, coal and heavy manufacturing
states that energy reform would hurt local economies.
Obama hewed closely to the same strategy, peppering his speech
with references to new "clean energy" jobs and the "profitable
kind of energy". He uttered the words "climate change" precisely
once, referring to America assuming a leadership role in the
negotiations to get a global deal to halt warming.
However, the president did voice support for a "comprehensive"
Senate bill - code in Washington for a broad set of proposals
that would also include establishment of a cap-and-trade programme.
The nod for a "comprehensive" bill could help head off attempts
to get the Senate to scale back its ambitions and pass a narrowly
focused energy bill that would not attempt to establish a
carbon market.
In addition, he said he wanted a bill through the Senate
in 2010 - timing that is seen as crucial both for the prospects
of energy reform in America and for getting a global change
deal.
Obama also took a shot at climate change deniers, which brought
some mutterings from Republicans. "I know that there are those
who disagree with the overwhelming scientific evidence on
climate change," he said. "But even if you doubt the evidence,
providing incentives for energy efficiency and clean energy
are the right thing to do for our future."
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