Obama calls energy and climate a top priority next year, admits economic woes hindered effort

President Obama said he would throw his political weight behind energy and climate legislation next year while suggesting another attempt at a sweeping bill isn’t in the cards.

“One of my top priorities next year is to have an energy policy that begins to address all facets of our overreliance on fossil fuels. We may end up having to do it in chunks, as opposed to some sort of comprehensive omnibus legislation,” Obama told Rolling Stone in a wide-ranging interview published online Tuesday. “But we're going to stay on this because it is good for our economy, it's good for our national security, and, ultimately, it's good for our environment.”

But Obama did not provide details about the shape of legislative proposals or Capitol Hill strategy. A broad cap-and-trade and energy bill narrowly passed the House in 2009 but collapsed in the Senate this year, and even a scaled-back version was not brought up for a vote.

Republicans are forecast to make major gains in the midterm elections, creating even higher political hurdles for any mandatory curbs on greenhouse gas emissions and Democratic energy policies.

The White House also placed a higher priority on pushing healthcare legislation through Congress this year than climate change. But Obama, asked in the interview if he would throw the weight of the presidency behind the energy and climate effort, replied:

“Yes. Not only can I foresee it, but I am committed to making sure that we get an energy policy that makes sense for the country and that helps us grow at the same time as it deals with climate change in a serious way.”

Obama said the hurting economy has been a drag on the climate efforts in the past two years.

“It is very hard to make progress on these issues in the midst of a huge economic crisis, because the natural inclination around the world is to say, ‘You know what? That may be a huge problem, but right now what's a really big problem is 10 percent unemployment,’ or ‘What's a really big problem is that our businesses can't get loans,’” Obama said.

Obama touted steps the administration has taken that did not need new legislation, such as imposing tougher fuel-efficiency rules on cars and light trucks, and said he would continue to focus on renewable electricity and building efficiency.

He also suggested that environmental advocates were not giving the White House enough credit for the steps it has taken. “[S]ometimes I think the progressive community just pockets whatever we do, takes it for granted, and then asks, ‘Well, why didn't you get this done?’” Obama said in the interview.

Obama said climate change “has the potential to have devastating effects on people around the globe, and we've got to do something about it.”