Washington, 27 July (Argus) — President Barack Obama today said he would continue pushing for passage of comprehensive energy and climate legislation that includes cuts in carbon emissions, just days after Senate leaders decided they lacked the votes to pass such a wide-reaching bill.

Obama praised the narrow energy bill being rolled out today by Senate Democrats, but said he considers it just a first step in changing the course of US energy policy.

“I intend to keep pushing for broader reform, including climate legislation, because if we've learned anything from the tragedy in the Gulf, it's that our current energy policy is untenable,” Obama said after meeting with a bipartisan group of congressional leaders.

Last week, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) decided not to include a greenhouse gas cap-and-trade program or renewable electricity standard (RES) in the new energy bill, saying that he did not have the votes to move either. Reid's decision not to take up cap-and-trade means the issue is unlikely to resurface this year, although renewable energy advocates expect an RES to be part of the debate over the next two weeks.

The president did not say when he would like to see Congress pass a climate bill, only that he considered it important to do to keep the US competitive in clean energy industries, lessen its dependence on foreign oil and reduce emissions of “deadly pollutants that threaten our air and our water and the lives and livelihoods of our people.”

“That's what comprehensive energy and climate reform would do. And that's why I intend to keep pushing the issue forward,” he said.

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