Rephrasing Cap & Trade

The Obama administration is beginning to talk more about tying clean-energy legislation to job creation and less about cap and trade, Farm Progress reports. At a recent clean-energy forum, White House energy and climate adviser Carol Browner stressed the need for legislation to eliminate dependence on foreign oil, put a price signal on carbon emissions and mandate an increase in electricity from renewable sources.

Browner said this is about creating a new generation of clean-energy jobs that will position the U.S. in a global market, and legislation is needed to do that. Meanwhile, White House officials said increased spending on alternative-energy research will emerge relatively unscathed from the president’s proposed spending freeze. Rob Nabors, deputy director of the White House’s Office of Management and Budget, said not everything in the budget is of equal importance to the country. Those things that are most important to the president — such as education and energy research — are at the top of the list.