President Obama portrayed himself as a business-loving centrist today at a Business Roundtable.   Obama is stepping up his pursuit of an energy/jobs/climate bill and he did say that we need to address climate change. But as always, he emphasized jobs and the economy, calling this the ‘lost decade’. Though it was a good speech,  it was uninspired-sounding. (possibly due to his audience; see photo below.)   You can read a summary of his remarks here.   He also said we need a price on carbon.

If this helps sell a climate bill it will be worth it.  He did say quite a bit about energy and climate and keeping America competitive through keeping up with the rest of the world.  Here are those remarks from the transcript:

[President Obama]:  “A competitive America is also America that finally has a smart energy policy.  We know there’s no silver bullet here.  We understand that to reduce our dependence on oil and the damage caused by climate change, we’re going to need more production in the short term, we’re going to need more efficiency, and we need more incentives for clean energy.

Business Roundtable audience. Are the people who run America's businesses really this homogenous? Capitalism needs some diversity! Photo from whitehouse.gov

And already, the Recovery Act has allowed us to jumpstart the clean energy industry in America -– an investment that will lead to 720,000 clean energy jobs by the year 2012.  To take just one example, the United States used to make less than 2 percent of the world’s advanced batteries for hybrid cars.  By 2015, we’ll have enough capacity to make up to 40 percent of these batteries.

We’ve also launched an unprecedented effort to make our homes and businesses more energy efficient.  We’ve announced loan guarantees to break ground on America’s first new nuclear plant in nearly three decades.  We’re supporting three of the largest solar plants in the world.  And I’ve said that we’re willing to make tough decisions about opening up new offshore areas for oil and gas development.  So what we’re looking at is a comprehensive strategy, not an either/or strategy but a both/and strategy when it comes to energy.

But to truly transition to a clean energy economy, I’ve also said that we need to put a price on carbon pollution.  Many businesses have embraced this approach — including some who are represented here today.  Still, I am sympathetic to those companies that face significant potential transition costs, and I want to work with this organization and others like this to help with those costs and to get our policies right.

What we can’t do is stand still.  The only certainty of the status quo is that the price and supply of oil will become increasingly volatile; that the use of fossil fuels will wreak havoc on weather patterns and air quality.  But if we decide now that we’re putting a price on this [...]