Electric Co-op Today

President Obama has signaled for the first time that a cap-and-trade emissions plan might be separated from an overall energy bill, though he did not indicate his administration would drop its move toward regulation of greenhouse gases.

President Obama discusses the state of cap-and-trade climate legislation Feb. 2 during a town meeting in Nashua, N.H. (Photo By: Zuma Wire World Photos)

Speaking Feb. 2 at a town meeting in Nashua, N.H., Obama acknowledged that a clean energy bill without a cap-and-trade component might clear the Senate, where climate change legislation has languished for months because of opposition to parts of the measure.

“The only thing I would say about it is this: We may be able to separate these things out,” Obama said. “And it’s conceivable that that’s where the Senate ends up.”

However, Obama did not back off his commitment to a cap-and-trade approach to reducing carbon emissions, in which emitters could buy or sell allowances to meet required greenhouse gas reductions.

“But 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,” he said.

NRECA CEO Glenn English said Obama’s comments appeared to reflect the political reality that a cap-and-trade bill probably would not get through the Senate. But he added co-ops remain concerned about the possibility of Environmental Protection Agency regulation of greenhouse gases from stationary sources under the Clean Air Act, which the president did not address.

“Our position is clear. We will oppose the economic train wreck that Clean Air Act regulation could cause,” he said.

Tags: Cap and Trade, Climate Change, Climate Change Legislation, Obama Administration