Barack Obama and his Democratic Party may have given up on implementing a US emissions cap and trade scheme for now, some political observers say following the president’s State of the Union address this week.
Obama continued down a familiar line of green rhetoric in the speech calling for the uptake of clean energy to create jobs and keep the economy competitive with trading partners. He called for a “comprehensive energy and climate bill” but did not specifically mention cap and trade.
A recession that sees business and household sectors suffering, staunch Republican opposition in Congress to carbon caps, and growing doubts among Democrat members in an election year, are all combining to make the passing of a climate bill with cap and trade as the cornerstone looking increasingly doubtful in 2010.
Adding weight to the interpretation that the White House may be backing away from carbon trading laws are subsequent comments from key Democrat climate ally Senator John Kerry. He rejected the idea that Obama’s speech signalled a jettisoning of cap and trade but appeared to unlock the door to alternatives, saying the question of how to price carbon remained “open”.
Kerry is one of three sponsors of a compromise Senate climate bill that is seeking bi-partisan buy-in for energy and climate legislation. "People need to relax and look at all the ways you might price carbon, we're not pinned down to one approach," Kerry told Reuters.
Obama did declare support for the compromise initiative in the speech, saying he was “eager to help advance the bipartisan effort in the Senate" this year.
Alternatives to US cap and trade include a carbon tax, regulation of emissions by the Environmental Protection Agency or a mandatory renewable energy scheme forcing a transition by power producers to clean sources.
Reuters, Bloomberg 28/1/10
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