Obama Administration Rolls Out Series Of New Clean Energy Initiatives

President Barack Obama’s leadership has catalyzed a global transition toward a clean energy economy, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has announced. Specifically, from 2010-2015 alone, the U.S. invested in more than $11 billion in international clean energy finance – including grant-based assistance, development finance and export credit – to support countries as they work to meet their growing energy needs and reduce carbon emissions.

At the same time, says the DOE, the U.S. has made research and development (R&D) a top priority – decreasing the cost of clean energy technologies substantially – and previously launched several initiatives to enhance universal access to cleaner energy:

How Obama and Congress Could Find Common Ground on Energy

Despite divided government, the partisan impasse may be about to end on energy policy. The key lies in a grand bargain.

In 2008, Barack Obama campaigned for the White House on the promise that he would pass a sweeping energy and climate-change law and move the country from dependence on fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy that reduced carbon pollution and addressed global warming. In his first term, Obama inched in that direction: The president rolled out regulations to reduce pollution from tailpipes and coal plants, and his stimulus program pumped $40 billion into clean-energy development.

White House: Oil companies don’t need 'wasteful' tax breaks

The White House officially endorsed a Democrat-backed bill to repeal billions of dollars in oil industry tax breaks Monday, arguing that major oil companies don’t need “wasteful subsidies” because they are making massive profits.

“This money can be better spent promoting domestic manufacturing, encouraging the development of clean energy technologies that will reduce our dependence on oil, and cutting the deficit,” the White House said in an official “statement of administration policy.”

The statement praised the legislation, which was sponsored by Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.). The bill would repeal $24 billion in tax deductions for the largest oil companies over the next decade. It would also extend a slew of key renewable energy tax credits.