Isra-Mart srl:Browner departs sparking fears over White House climate strategy

www.isra-mart.com

Isra-Mart srl news:

The Obama administration's energy and climate change advisor, Carol Browner, is to step down within the next few weeks, prompting speculation that President Obama will water down his efforts to tackle greenhouse gas emissions in an attempt to improve co-operation with the Republican-controlled House of Representatives.

Officials told reporters late yesterday that Browner will leave her position as "environmentalist in chief", but downplayed speculation of a disagreement over the direction of the administration's climate change strategy.

"She is proud of the administration's accomplishments - from the historic investments in clean energy included in the Recovery Act to the national policy on vehicle efficiency that will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil and lower consumers' prices at the pump," one official told Reuters.

Another told the influential Hill blog that Browner is "confident the mission of her office will remain critical to the president, and pleased with what will be in the State of the Union tomorrow and in the budget on clean energy".

However, officials refused to confirm that Browner would be directly replaced, stating only that "the president's commitment to these issues will continue but any transition of the office will be announced soon".

The move, coming on the eve of Obama's crucial State of the Union address, will inevitably spark protests from green groups concerned that the administration is scaling back its ambitious climate change agenda as part of an attempt to work with Republicans fiercely opposed to any legislation designed to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.

Critics voiced fears last week that President Obama's plan for a review of all federal regulations could herald a roll back of environmental legislation, while over 20 environmental and public health organisations have written to Obama urging him to signal his support for the EPA's efforts to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in his State of the Union speech.

The EPA is facing fierce opposition from business groups and Republicans seeking to strip it of its power to regulate greenhouse gas emissions, and only yesterday Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee revealed that a bill designed to curtail the EPA's powers would be unveiled within the next four to six weeks.

Browner previously headed the EPA during the Clinton administration and was repeatedly vilified by some Republicans, who accused her of holding "extremist" views on the environment.

She was credited with successfully steering the negotiations that led to an agreement between states and automakers on new vehicle emissions standards. However, she was also central to the administration's failed efforts to build bi-partisan support for its climate change bill, which was defeated last summer, and drew criticism for her involvement in the response to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, during which she suggested the "vast majority" of leaked oil had dissipated.