Obama: I intend to find the votes on climate 'in the coming months'

President Barack Obama will vow Wednesday to personally corral Senate votes for a sweeping climate change and energy bill in the coming months.

His comments are sure to hearten environmentalists, who have been pressing for the White House to exert more political pressure on lawmakers this year.

“The votes may not be there right now, but I intend to find them in the coming months. I will make the case for a clean energy future wherever I can, and I will work with anyone from either party to get this done,” Obama plans to say in speech at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania Wednesday afternoon.

“But we will get this done. The next generation will not be held hostage to energy sources from the last century,” he plans to add, according to excerpts released by the White House.

Obama says the Gulf of Mexico oil spill shows that “we have to acknowledge that there are inherent risks to drilling four miles beneath the surface of the Earth — risks that are bound to increase the harder oil extraction becomes.”

“Just like we have to acknowledge that an America run solely on fossil fuels should not be the vision we have for our children and grandchildren. ... The time has come, once and for all, for this nation to fully embrace a clean energy future,” Obama states.

He says this will include greater efficiency, use of natural gas and expanding the country’s nuclear power fleet.

The House approved a broad climate change and energy bill last year but it has not gained traction in the Senate.

Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) are seeking support for a separate plan they unveiled last month that blends a cap on greenhouse gas emissions with a range of incentives for nuclear power and low-emissions coal projects.

It gives states new powers to block oil-and-gas drilling off their shores, yet also provides major incentives to support drilling by giving coastal states a generous share of royalty revenues if development proceeds.

The plan currently lacks any GOP support.

Also in play in the Senate: a broad energy package the Energy and Natural Resources Committee approved a year ago. It includes a suite of energy efficiency measures and a national renewable electricity mandate.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said last month he plans to hold a meeting with the Democratic caucus in mid-June to discuss how to proceed on energy and climate.