Inquirer Says GOP Successfully Blocked Passage of Climate Bill

The Philadelphia Inquirer, in an editorial published today, said the Senate "wilted" on climate change issues as Senate Republicans "successfully blocked passage of any significant climate-change legislation" this year." While the Inquirer noted that the bill had its faults, proponents sought to have it "stuffed with goodies" to mitigate the impact on the fossil-fuel industries. "But," the Inquirer said, "the biggest piece of candy turned rancid" and efforts were made to curtail offshore energy exploration in the aftermath of the oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Wrote the Inquirer: "Senate Democrats are pushing a more modest climate bill defining BP's liability for the spill and tightening energy-efficiency standards. Missing will be the controversial plan to reduce carbon emissions through a cap-and-trade program. The House narrowly passed cap-and-trade in June, with eight Republicans voting for it. But the Senate never voted on its bill, which means House Republicans who voted yes have nothing to show for braving to cross the aisle."

President to Hold Bipartisan Meeting Today on Climate, Energy

The Wall Street Journal today reported that Congressional Democrats are looking to use a bipartisan meeting with President Obama on Tuesday to leverage a clear solution to energy and climate efforts on Capitol Hill.

Energy & Environment reported today that even if the Senate passed a watered-down version of climate and energy legislation before the mid-term elections, the House-Senate conference committee could end up revisiting everything, including a cap-and-trade program, during a subsequent lame duck session. Wrote the newsletter: "Even if they do not enact cap and trade, Democratic leaders could use a conference to ratchet up the climate regulations past what the Senate agreed to and beyond what Democratic House centrists want."

Sens. Joseph I. Lieberman, I-Conn., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., have expressed reservations about leaving so much work to the conferees. Sanders was quoted as saying: "Members of the Senate have their views as to what constitutes a strong bill, and they're going to want to be heard on this." The policies that could be radically revised during a conference, the newsletter reported, include oil spill liability, stricter drilling regulations, a renewable energy standard, sharing offshore drilling royalties with states, nuclear plant loan guarantees "and the big one -- a price on carbon."

A question that adds more uncertainty is what bill Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., would bring to the Senate floor. One possibility is that he would add climate provisions to a legislative response to the oil spill on the assumption that the latter would have to pass or he could add the oil spill provisions to an energy-only bill. If Reid went with the latter strategy, it would present a problem for conservative Democrats who would rather vote on an energy bill after the elections, even though they might want to go home in November with a credible bill to stop future oils spills.

- Related story appeared in the Wall Street Journal's Washington Wire.

L.A. Times Calls for Climate Leadership From President Obama

The Los Angeles Times, in an editorial published today, said polls on energy policy indicated Americans were concerned about the environment and they are seeking leadership on the issue from President Obama. The newspaper noted that Obama's speech last week on the BP oil rig accident "was expected to mark the start of a major White House push for legislation aimed at clean energy and climate change, but the second part of that package went down like a crude-coated pelican. Obama's failure to mention cap-and-trade, or any other scheme to price greenhouse-gas emissions, suggests he doesn't intend to pursue it."

The Times wrote that Obama was bowing to political reality: "He can count votes as well as anybody, and it's clear that the 60 votes needed to overcome a Senate filibuster on a climate bill just aren't there. Yet the president's habit of leading from the rear is in part responsible for that." The Times said the other message underlying recent polls was that Americans appeared to have few substantial ideas about combating climate change, but they knew it would cost them a great deal.

New York Times: Kerry-Lieberman Better Than Other Climate Bills

The New York Times, in an editorial published today, endorsed the Kerry-Lieberman climate bill, saying "there are other honorable bills out there that have much to recommend them but fall short because they do not include mandatory greenhouse gas reductions or a price signal" on carbon.

The editorial expressed disappointment that in his recent address on the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, President Obama did not argue for a "broadly based, economy-wide cap-and-trade system," but instead "opened the door far too wide to alternative policies that aren’t real alternatives, and to more stalling."

Detroit Free Press Endorses Kerry-Lieberman Climate Legislation

The Detroit Free Press, in an editorial, wrote that "Congress, not BP, has the cure for our continuing addiction to fossil fuels." After the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, the newspaper said the Senate should approve the Kerry-Lieberman climate bill, which "balances its increasingly stringent [GHG emissions] limits with concessions to virtually every major energy stakeholder--loan guarantees for nuclear plant owners, exemptions for heavy industry, rebates for consumers, and so on--while endeavoring to generate millions of clean-energy jobs."

The Free Press noted that the legislation faces opposition from Republican senators claiming President Obama was "mixing apples and oranges by conflating climate change legislation with his campaign to reduce reliance on oil. But the president is merely connecting the dots. Projections indicate the Kerry-Lieberman bill would accelerate the transition from fossil fuels. A study by the Peter G. Peterson Institute for International Economics suggests the bill's mandates for alternative fuels and more efficient vehicles would reduce oil imports by one-third over the next quarter century."

Sens. Boxer, Graham Still See Prospects for Energy Legislation

Congressional efforts to enact energy legislation "might survive" the Gulf of Mexico oil-rig disaster that killed 11 workers and has caused environmental damage along the southeastern coastline, the Associated Press reported. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., who chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and has been an opponent of offshore exploration, was quoted as saying that the spill "has definitely changed the equation but not necessarily in a negative way." Backers of more offshore drilling, she said, "understand they're going to need to work with us in making it safer. In some ways, it opens up that door."

The AP reported that there was significant political fallout, particularly for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and ex-House Speaker Newt Gingrich. The conservatives, who were eyeing a possible 2012 presidential bid against President Obama, have promoted the "drill, baby, drill" mantra or the "drill here, drill now" refrain. The AP wrote that these phrases "suddenly don't seem so clever or wise."

Erich Pica, president of Friends of the Earth, was quoted as saying: "All the political winds are blowing in the direction of no additional oil drilling." The Gulf disaster, he said, "has given us a political-policy timeout."

The AP asked Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-S.C., the key Republican voice on the bipartisan team shaping energy legislation, how the political winds will blow. He said the Gulf spill does not necessarily rule out passage of a comprehensive energy bill this year, although he noted it's always difficult to round up 60 votes to overcome filibusters in the 100-member Senate.

Wrote the AP: "Praising Obama's approach to the oil spill, Graham said, 'We should be cautious, we should let this settle out, get this spill under control, find out what happened, but realize that America's energy dependency is a national security threat. Our choices all involve risk,' Graham said. The risk of having Middle East countries set oil prices for America, 'and this money getting into the wrong hands that we send overseas, to me, is much greater than the risks of domestic exploration for oil and gas'."

Globe Columnist Says Political Leadership Gone on Energy/Climate

Joshua Green, a senior editor at The Atlantic magazine and a new columnist for the Boston Globe, wrote in the Globe that even a disastrous Gulf of Mexico oil spill has failed to pressure Washington political leaders to move ahead with landmark climate and energy legislation. "This should have prompted the Senate to look anew at the energy bill, which steers the country towards a cleaner, safer energy future," Green wrote. "But that's not what has happened. Many early responders in both parties have defended, not condemned, offshore drilling."

Green quoted Sen. David Vitter, R-La., as saying: "I don't think that there's any argument that we should just start shutting down activity now, or even start shutting down new activity that's planned." He quoted House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, as saying: "This tragedy should remind us that America needs a real, comprehensive energy plan, like Republicans' 'all-of-the-above' strategy."

Green noted that even President Obama has done little to turn the tide, offering a comment that he describes as "most feckless" when he said: "Let me be clear. I continue to believe that domestic oil production is an important part of our overall strategy for energy security."

Concluded Green: "Perversely, the Gulf disaster has had the short-term effect of weakening the already tepid support for a Senate climate bill. That may change as Louisiana's coastline is subsumed by oil. Washington eventually responds to public outrage. (Just ask Goldman Sachs.) But for now, energy can join the long list of issues on which Washington leadership has vanished."

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Threatens Support for Climate Legislation

The oil spreading from the Gulf of Mexico rig destroyed by a recent explosion has become the latest controversy dogging climate and energy legislation being readied by Sens. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., and Joseph I. Lieberman, ID-Conn, the New York Times reported today. The bill's third co-author, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., continued to insist he would stay on the sidelines if the legislation were not scheduled for consideration ahead of immigration reform.

The legislation, which had been set for a public unveiling on Monday, but was delayed by Graham's shift, was said to include expanded offshore drilling for natural gas and oil. As a result, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has backed away from his support for offshore drilling, the Miami Herald reported today. After a flight over the oil spill, Crist said: "Clearly it could be devastating to Florida if something like that were to occur. It's the last thing in the world I would want to see happen in our beautiful state."

The Herald wrote: "He said there is no question now that lawmakers should give up on the idea of drilling off Florida's coast this year and in coming years. He had said previously that he would support drilling if it was far enough from shore, safe enough and clean enough. He said the spill is proof that that is not possible."

Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., said a "thorough investigation of the industry's safety practices" was necessary, the Times wrote, noting that he had pressed the Obama administration to "extend the coastal buffer zone off Florida to 125 miles from 75 miles. Now he said he was not certain that even that was enough margin for safety." Nelson was quoted as saying: "The tragedy off the coast of Louisiana shows we need to be asking a lot more tough questions of Big Oil. We need to look back over 10 years or so to see if the record denies the industry's claims about safety and technology."

The Times wrote that "several other coastal-state senators whose votes could be crucial to passage of climate legislation have expressed concerns about the safety and environmental impacts. The Times named Sens Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.; Frank R. Lautenberg, D-N.J.; Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md.; Mark Warner, D-Va.; Kay Hagan, D-N.C.; and George LeMieux, R-Fla. Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., was quoted as saying: "I have been an advocate of climate change legislation, but I'm going to have a real problem if we have drilling as I've heard it. Unless there is the ability for neighboring states to have some type of veto in the process, unless there's some serious environmental consideration before any drilling takes place, unless there are very significant buffer zones, I'm going to have a hard time at the end of the day supporting this legislation."

Kerry said EPA would study the possible economic impacts in a draft of the legislation he was sending the agency, Reuters reported. Kerry was quoted as saying: "We are sending the bill to be modeled now with Lindsey Graham's consent." Asked if the bill would be unveiled without Graham, Kerry said: "We're not even thinking about that."