Obama: Cap-And-trade May Be Separate In Senate Bill
Date: 03-Feb-10
Country: US
Author: Jeff Mason
A cooling tower is seen at a power plant in New Haven, West Virginia October 27, 2009.
Photo: Ayesha Rascoe
New Hampshire - President Barack Obama acknowledged on Tuesday that a controversial "cap-and-trade" mechanism to fight climate change could be separated from other aspects of an energy bill before the Senate.
A cap-and-trade system would set limits on greenhouse gas emissions and allow companies to trade permits to pollute. The system, a version of which was approved by the House of Representatives, is controversial, especially among lawmakers who represent states with big coal reserves.
"The most controversial aspects of the energy debate that we've been having: the House passed an energy bill and people complained that, 'Well, there's this cap-and-trade thing,'" Obama told the crowd.
"We may be able to separate these things out. And it's conceivable that that's where the Senate ends up," he continued.
Other, more popular parts of the energy bill seek to boost renewable energy such as wind and solar power. Those parts may be easier to pass.
A White House spokesman said the president still supported comprehensive climate and energy legislation as one package.
Getting an energy and climate bill through Congress was originally one of Obama's top policy goals, but the drawn-out healthcare debate delayed the package, and supporters fear it may die or be delayed further during an election year that could change the balance of power in the House and Senate.
Obama made it clear during a question and answer period with a crowd in New Hampshire that he wanted a market mechanism to put a price on carbon. He said that even with advanced technology, coal -- a highly-polluting fossil fuel -- would continue to be cheaper to buy than cleaner, renewable energy.
A market mechanism would address that by making companies pay for using fuels that emit more carbon dioxide, one of the most common greenhouse gases blamed for warming the earth.
"The concept of incentivizing clean energy so that it's the cheaper, more effective kind of energy is one that is proven to work and is actually a market-based approach," Obama said.
"Does it make sense for us to start pricing in the fact that this thing's really bad for the environment and, if we do, then can we do it in a way that doesn't involve some big bureaucracy and a control-and-command system, but just says...there's going to be a price to pollution," he said.
"Then everybody can adapt and decide which are...the best energies," he said.
In June a Senate committee approved an energy package that would require utilities to generate 15 percent of electricity from renewable sources such as solar and wind power by 2021.
It also supported a measures that would allow drilling within 45 miles of Florida's Gulf coast.
(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
