Will the 'energy-only' approach gain traction?

The fate of Senate climate legislation is in limbo, but Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said Tuesday that the Senate should take up a package of energy measures his committee approved last year.

The energy package should come to the floor regardless of whether lawmakers can agree to attach climate change provisions, he told reporters in the Capitol today.

“If there are other things that people want to add, I have no problem with that. I think we ought to pass what we can pass,” Bingaman said. “Whenever the Majority Leader can find time on the Senate calendar I would like to see our bill brought up.”

The Energy Committee plan approved last June includes a host of energy efficiency measures, wider financial support for low-carbon energy projects, and a national renewable electricity mandate, among many other provisions. It also allows wider oil-and-gas drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Some centrist Democrats such as Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) and Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) have called for Senate consideration of the bill. But liberals and environmental groups have strongly attacked the “energy only” option, arguing that tackling energy reform without measures that put a price on carbon emissions is insufficient.

“Just a clean energy bill doesn’t do it,” said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.).

Opponents of the “energy only” approach include Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who have crafted a broad climate and energy bill that includes provisions to cap greenhouse gas emissions.

But that plan suffered a huge setback over the weekend when Graham suspended his support. He’s furious that Democratic leaders may bring up immigration legislation in what he calls a “haphazard” election-year political maneuver.

Kerry and Lieberman briefed several Senate Democrats in the Capitol today about the status of the climate bill. It was slated to be unveiled Monday but the rollout was scuttled by Graham’s decision to at least temporarily yank his support.

Kerry said last night that the climate plan is “very much alive,” but its prospects of advancing without Graham – who is seen as a bridge to other GOP votes – are considered poor.