Climate advocates dig in ahead of White House, Dem caucus meetings

Several senators emerged from a Capitol meeting Tuesday with the architects of climate change legislation vowing to continue pressing for emissions curbs in the energy package expected on the floor this summer.

“We are focused on a comprehensive energy bill that would price carbon,” said Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.).

He spoke after a suite of Democrats met with Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who are seeking traction for their climate change and energy bill.

“We were focused on a comprehensive bill. We are not ceding any ground. We are still hopeful,” Udall said.

The meeting was the latest in a series of gatherings that Kerry and Lieberman have hosted to pitch their plan to colleagues and discuss strategy.

Said Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) after exiting the session: “I think there’s a consensus that it’s not enough to do an energy-only bill.”

President Barack Obama is slated to meet Wednesday with a bipartisan group of senators at the White House to discuss energy legislation. On Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is convening another meeting of the Democratic Caucus to discuss the issue.

A key question looming over the talks is whether an energy bill that responds to the BP oil spill and boosts alternative energy will include provisions that create a cost for industrial carbon emissions.

Kerry said earlier Tuesday that he is open to scaling back the sweeping bill he authored, while insisting that it must contain carbon provisions.