A look back at President Obama’s environmental policy history reflects a past of hits and misses. (Darin Leach/USDA)
WASHINGTON – In his Inaugural address, President Barack Obama promised to “respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.” Six years later, as his next-to-last State of the Union approaches, the president leaves behind a complicated environmental legacy.
With the United States surpassing both Russia and Saudi Arabia in crude oil production in 2014, Obama may use the address to outline environmental safeguards dealing with oil production. Ahead of the speech, the Environmental Protection Agency released a proposal to limit harmful emissions from the oil and natural gas industry.
Having set a goal in his first term to achieve energy independence, the president may propose environmental protections aimed at assuring the energy industry expands responsibly .
According to a 2009 Gallup poll, 79 percent of Americans surveyed believed Obama would do a “good job” of protecting the nation’s environment. With these high hopes, the president set national environmental goals in his second week in office, imploring Congress to pass legislation that would allow for the development of a “new energy economy.”
“It will be the policy of my administration to reverse our dependence on foreign oil while building a new energy economy that will create millions of jobs,” Obama said after taking his oath of office in January 2009.
That year, his administration moved to invest in clean energy and hazardous waste reduction with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act – the stimulus. The law allotted $7.2 billion to the Environmental Protection Agency to “protect and promote both ‘green’ jobs and a healthier environment” and $31 billion to the Energy Department, including a $3.4 billion Smart Grid Investment Grant.
“This investment in smart grid technologies and training will help improve the efficiency and reliability of the electrical system… ” a statement from the Energy agency said, and “empower consumers to reduce their energy use and save money.”
The Recovery Act allowed for the development of alternative fuel vehicles and helped homeowners to “reduce their energy costs with energy efficiency upgrades” through the Energy Department’s investments. It also created 8,600 jobs per quarter in the three years following its passage under the EPA’s green job creation program, according to the EPA’s website.
In his first year in the White House, Obama also proposed the Clean Energy and Security Act – the so-called cap-and-trade bill meant to limit carbon dioxide emissions. It passed the House, but failed in the Senate, facing criticism to the point that the conservative Heritage Foundation said it could create an energy crisis.
“The Waxman-Markey bill would have little impact on world temperatures, it is a massive energy tax in disguise that promises job losses, income cuts, and a sharp left turn toward big government,” a Heritage report said in 2009.
Obama tried again in his 2011 State of the Union, calling electric utilities to acquire 80 percent of their energy from no- or low-carbon pollution sources by 2035. The proposal again failed in Congress.
Despite his lack of success on Capitol Hill, Obama could point to a doubling of energy consumption from wind and solar power and a nine percent reduction of carbon pollution by the end of his first term.
By the end of his first term, Obama’s team had invested $90 billion in clean-energy projects, more than any administration. “Instead of subsidizing yesterday’s energy, let’s invest in tomorrow’s,” Obama said in 2011.
The Obama White House announced the president’s Climate Action Plan in 2013, outlining environmental policy for his second term. The plan called for a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions to preserve forests, investing in clean energy and increasing funding for climate change research.
“We hope that the president’s proposed Climate Action Plan will be a steppingstone to comprehensive federal climate action,” SustainUS, a youth-based sustainable development advocacy group, said in response to the president’s proposed plan. “We look forward to collaborating with [him] as we protect our and our children’s future by addressing climate change.”
