President Obama called on Congress to pass climate and energy legislation that would include the construction of a new generation of nuclear power plants, more offshore oil drilling along the U.S. coast, and increased funding for developing renewable energy and improving energy efficiency. But the president made no mention in his State of the Union speech of controversial legislation to impose a price and a cap on carbon emissions. By backing away from cap-and-trade legislation that already has been passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, Obama signaled his willingness to work with Republicans to pass a scaled-back version of climate and energy legislation this year. U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a leading Republican on energy issues, said he was optimistic that a bipartisan energy bill could be passed this year, but he implied that such legislation would only pass if cap-and-trade provisions were removed. In his speech, Obama said his administration will invest $8 billion in high-speed rail lines in California, Florida, and the Midwest. And he told Congress that even if some members doubted that global warming was real, “providing incentives for energy efficiency and clean energy are the right thing to do for our future because the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy.”
Obama Calls for Energy Bill But Makes No Mention of Cap-and-Trade
More From E360
-
Solutions
In Seawater, Researchers See an Untapped Bounty of Critical Metals
-
INTERVIEW
Tracking Illicit Brazilian Beef from the Amazon to Your Burger
-
Solutions
In a Dammed and Diked Mekong, a Push to Restore the Flow
-
INTERVIEW
How One South African Community Stopped Shell Oil in Its Tracks
-
ANALYSIS
Will New Leader End Progress in Saving Indonesia’s Forests?
-
Oceans
Dire Straits: Can a Fishing Ban Save the Elusive European Eel?
-
Climate
Scientists Are Trying to Coax the Ocean to Absorb More CO2
-
INTERVIEW
Marina Silva on Brazil’s Fight to Turn the Tide on Deforestation
-
Solutions
Solomon Islands Tribes Sell Carbon Credits, Not Their Trees
-
INTERVIEW
With Sea Turtles in Peril, a Call for New Strategies to Save Them
-
RIVERS
Jared Kushner Has Big Plans for Delta of Europe’s Last Wild River
-
Energy
A Nuclear Power Revival Is Sparking a Surge in Uranium Mining