Rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated: A story published in Wednesday’s New York Times quoted South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham thusly:
“Realistically, the cap-and-trade bills in the House and the Senate are going nowhere,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who is trying to fashion a bipartisan package of climate and energy measures. “They’re not business-friendly enough, and they don’t lead to meaningful energy independence.”
Mr. Graham said the public was demanding that any energy legislation from Washington focus on creating jobs, whether by drilling for offshore oil or building wind turbines.
“What is dead is some massive cap-and-trade system that regulates carbon in a fashion that drives up energy costs,” he said.
But just hours before President Obama addressed Congress and the nation in his State of the Union address, the senator released this statement, clarifying the quote and reaffirming his support for legislative action to address climate change.
So what is the state of this union, climactically speaking?: In a move that surprised some and didn’t go far enough for others, President Obama stood firm in his support of comprehensive climate and energy legislation in his State of the Union address Wednesday.
But despite driving home the “passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill” line, most of the president’s message on climate and energy expectedly centered on green jobs and innovation (H/T Financial Times Energy Source):
We should put more Americans to work building clean energy facilities — (applause) — and give rebates to Americans who make their homes more energy-efficient, which supports clean energy jobs. (Applause.) And to encourage these and other businesses to stay within our borders, it is time to finally slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas, and give those tax breaks to companies that create jobs right here in the United States of America. (Applause.)
…
Next, we need to encourage American innovation. Last year, we made the largest investment in basic research funding in history -– (applause) — an investment that could lead to the world’s cheapest solar cells or treatment that kills cancer cells but leaves healthy ones untouched. And no area is more ripe for such innovation than energy. You can see the results of last year’s investments in clean energy -– in the North Carolina company that will create 1,200 jobs nationwide helping to make advanced batteries; or in the California business that will put a thousand people to work making solar panels.
But to create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more Incentives. And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country. (Applause.) It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development. (Applause.) It means continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies. (Applause.) And, yes, it means passing a comprehensive energy and climate bill with incentives that will finally make clean energy the profitable kind of energy in America. (Applause.)
Meanwhile across the Atlantic: The annual World Economic Forum kicked off Wednesday in Davos, Switzerland. And while some question the paradigms of the annual meeting, it’s tough to not pay attention to the all stars of business, thought and government gathered there.
Plus, the SEC said companies need to start accounting for climate change, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski may be trying to pass climate legislation after all and soccer ball could save the world.
Did we miss the big story of the week? Let us know. Leave a comment below or email clements@rff.org.