In its State of the Union address, US President Barack Obama has decided to accelerate actions to tackle climate change, giving Congress an ultimatum: whether Congress soon takes measures to "protect future generations", i.e. considering putting a price on CO2 emissions, or his Cabinet will "come up with executive actions [it] can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare [the] communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the transition to more sustainable sources of energy."
The US should use their abundant fossil fuels to invest in renewable energies. Investments in domestic gas E&P should be encouraged by cutting red tape (reduced administrative burdens) and Congress should "encourage the research and technology that helps natural gas burn even cleaner". Obama proposed to direct part of oil and gas revenues to an Energy Security Trust, that would drive new research and technology on alternatives to oil and on cheaper solar and wind. Currently, 30% of the US gas and oil production and 40% of the coal production is managed by the Department of Interior, which collected $12bn in revenue in 2012.
Policies should also focus on energy efficiency. Obama urged that Americans halve the energy wasted in homes and business in the next 20 years.
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