WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House called for implementing a "comprehensive market-based policy" that includes offsets to fight climate change, but omitted a projection in the new budget that a cap-and-trade market would raise $646 billion in revenues by 2019.
The Obama administration has pledged to cut U.S. emissions about 17 percent by 2020 from 2005 levels. To make those reductions, businesses may invest in greenhouse gas offsets at farms or develop export markets for clean energy technologies "through investments in emission offset activities abroad," the budget said.
The budget dropped the projected revenues from a cap-and-trade mechanism from 2012 to 2019 that were included last year, as the climate bill remains stalled in the Senate.
The bill's future is uncertain amid opposition from senators from states that produce and use large amounts of fossil fuels.
White House aides, however, are working to advance the climate bill and the budget triples support for construction of new nuclear power plants to $54.5 billion. Lawmakers who support the bill hope more incentives for nuclear and offshore oil and natural gas drilling will win votes from Republicans. (Reporting by Timothy Gardner)
Copyright 2010 Reuters Environmental Online Report
