White House aides Larry Summers and Carol Browner insisted that the administration was willing to bend on several key issues, including the mechanism for pricing carbon and increased domestic energy exploration. But both said the president would not budge when it comes to placing a first-ever price on domestic greenhouse gas emissions.
E&E News PM (subs. req’d) reported on the remarks from both the director of Obama’s National Economic Council and Obama’s chief climate aid. In a forum sponsored by Google, Browner said of the bipartisan Senate effort of Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Kerry (D-MA), and Joe Lieberman (I-CT):
“I think it’s fairly safe to assume they’ll end with an economywide program, so you’ll get all of the sources of emissions, but they may be using slightly different tools for different sectors,” Browner said….
“We’re very clear we want comprehensive legislation,” Browner said. “Every now and then, you’ll hear talk of an energy-only bill. We think that’d be unfortunate.”
The Hill expanded on Summers’ remarks:
“Going forward for the rest of this year a bipartisan energy solution is an absolutely crucial priority for the president,” Summers said in a Washington, DC speech at a conference hosted by the federal Energy Information Administration.
He said there is “increasing evidence” of bipartisan support, citing work on legislation in the Senate….
“The cheapest stimulus program in the world is enhanced confidence,” Summers said. He also noted the costs of reliance on oil imports, calling it a drag on the economy.
“Clean energy legislation will strengthen our international competitive position,” Summers said.
The White House is talking the talk. Now they need to walk the walk.
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- Graham: “Every day that we delay trying to find a price for carbon is a day that China uses to dominate the green economy”
- Graham: “The idea of not pricing carbon, in my view, means you’re not serious about energy independence. The odd thing is you’ll never have energy independence until you clean up the air, and you’ll never clean up the air until you price carbon.“