Related News
Obama aims to win climate bill with green jobs, nuclear
Source: Agencies |
January 28, 2010, Thursday
|
Online Edition
Online Edition
PRESIDENT Barack Obama, trying to save a stalled bill to fight climate change, said yesterday clean energy investment could power jobs growth and made no mention of creating a market in planet-warming emissions.
The bill aims to cut carbon pollution by putting a price on the emissions from utilities, refineries and factories and creating a market for pollution permits. It also commits the United States to carbon reduction targets for the next 40 years.
Opponents fear the cost burden of mandatory cuts would lead to job losses or jobs moving overseas. Unemployment is running at 10 percent.
Obama, in his first State of the Union speech to Congress, instead focused on the bill's potential to drive huge investment in solar panel making, wind farms and other green energy, saying this would boost jobs and exports to rivals such as China and India.
"This year, I am eager to help advance the bipartisan effort in the Senate," Obama said in reaching out to opponents.
"And yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America."
In a further sweetener to climate bill opponents, he promoted nuclear energy, offshore drilling and clean-coal power stations as other key investment areas.
Obama needs bipartisan support to pass the climate bill in the Senate, where his Democrats just lost one of the 60 seats they needed to override objections.
He did not say the bill had to include a cap-and-trade market for emissions blamed for warming the Earth.
"It seems like the Democratic leadership is sticking with combined energy and climate change legislation for now. While he did not say cap-and-trade, he did say they are going to push for comprehensive climate policy," said Will Pearson, a global energy analyst at the Eurasia Group.
Nor did he mention last month's Copenhagen Accord aimed at global carbon emission reductions, even though he helped to broker that deal with China, India and other big emitters.
WAITING TO ACT
He also made no mention of emission reduction targets previously pledged before last month's Copenhagen climate meeting. Obama has said the United States would cut emissions 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, but this is contingent on the climate bill passing.
Many nations are waiting for Congress to pass the climate bill and for the government to toughen its 2020 target, saying both are key to efforts to seal a tougher U.N. climate deal.
Senators John Kerry, a Democrat, Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Joe Lieberman, an independent, are working on a compromise climate bill that would include more incentives for nuclear energy and offshore oil drilling.
"The message from Obama seemed to be the ball continues to be in the court of the trio of senators to come up with a plan," said Whitney Stanco, an analyst at Concept Capital's Washington Research Group.
She said the senators were open to ideas about bringing the bill forward that could include limiting cap-and-trade to power plants only instead of pollution sources across the economy. Another option could be to cap emissions but prohibit the trading of credits representing emissions reductions.
Obama acknowledged that some people doubt the science of global warming.
"But even if you doubt the evidence, 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 said.
That call generated strong support from analysts and investors.
"President Obama made it clear that investing in clean energy and climate solutions will help tackle Americans' two biggest concerns right now: economic recovery and job creation," said Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York.
Obama's comments also showed he wanted to try to take the clean-tech development lead from China, said Edgare Kerkwijk, managing director Asia Green Capital in Singapore.
"However, a lot needs to happen as China is currently leading in the number of applications of new patents in the clean technology sector," he said.
The Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia said it was pleased Obama emphasised the need for more investment in a strong U.S. renewable energy industry.
"If it were to happen, it would help create a larger, stronger renewable energy industry globally," said Erik Floyd, Asria's joint-executive director.
The bill aims to cut carbon pollution by putting a price on the emissions from utilities, refineries and factories and creating a market for pollution permits. It also commits the United States to carbon reduction targets for the next 40 years.
Opponents fear the cost burden of mandatory cuts would lead to job losses or jobs moving overseas. Unemployment is running at 10 percent.
Obama, in his first State of the Union speech to Congress, instead focused on the bill's potential to drive huge investment in solar panel making, wind farms and other green energy, saying this would boost jobs and exports to rivals such as China and India.
"This year, I am eager to help advance the bipartisan effort in the Senate," Obama said in reaching out to opponents.
"And yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America."
In a further sweetener to climate bill opponents, he promoted nuclear energy, offshore drilling and clean-coal power stations as other key investment areas.
Obama needs bipartisan support to pass the climate bill in the Senate, where his Democrats just lost one of the 60 seats they needed to override objections.
He did not say the bill had to include a cap-and-trade market for emissions blamed for warming the Earth.
"It seems like the Democratic leadership is sticking with combined energy and climate change legislation for now. While he did not say cap-and-trade, he did say they are going to push for comprehensive climate policy," said Will Pearson, a global energy analyst at the Eurasia Group.
Nor did he mention last month's Copenhagen Accord aimed at global carbon emission reductions, even though he helped to broker that deal with China, India and other big emitters.
WAITING TO ACT
He also made no mention of emission reduction targets previously pledged before last month's Copenhagen climate meeting. Obama has said the United States would cut emissions 17 percent from 2005 levels by 2020, but this is contingent on the climate bill passing.
Many nations are waiting for Congress to pass the climate bill and for the government to toughen its 2020 target, saying both are key to efforts to seal a tougher U.N. climate deal.
Senators John Kerry, a Democrat, Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Joe Lieberman, an independent, are working on a compromise climate bill that would include more incentives for nuclear energy and offshore oil drilling.
"The message from Obama seemed to be the ball continues to be in the court of the trio of senators to come up with a plan," said Whitney Stanco, an analyst at Concept Capital's Washington Research Group.
She said the senators were open to ideas about bringing the bill forward that could include limiting cap-and-trade to power plants only instead of pollution sources across the economy. Another option could be to cap emissions but prohibit the trading of credits representing emissions reductions.
Obama acknowledged that some people doubt the science of global warming.
"But even if you doubt the evidence, 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 said.
That call generated strong support from analysts and investors.
"President Obama made it clear that investing in clean energy and climate solutions will help tackle Americans' two biggest concerns right now: economic recovery and job creation," said Frances Beinecke, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council in New York.
Obama's comments also showed he wanted to try to take the clean-tech development lead from China, said Edgare Kerkwijk, managing director Asia Green Capital in Singapore.
"However, a lot needs to happen as China is currently leading in the number of applications of new patents in the clean technology sector," he said.
The Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia said it was pleased Obama emphasised the need for more investment in a strong U.S. renewable energy industry.
"If it were to happen, it would help create a larger, stronger renewable energy industry globally," said Erik Floyd, Asria's joint-executive director.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
