Clinton on the Record

What I want to do is not only look at existent, known forms of renewable energy and how we can move more quickly to commercial application and distribution for solar, wind, and geothermal, but also look at other forms of biofuel and biodiesel. You know, let's take a look at the internal combustion engine. Let's figure out if there are some new ideas out there that would play to America's strengths as we move toward less of a dependence on foreign oil and more homegrown energy.

Q: What role will coal play in your plan?

A: I think we have got to take a hard look at clean coal. I have advocated carbon sequestration, I have advocated power plants looking for ways to use coal more cleanly and efficiently. I doubt very much that using coal in liquid form for transportation could ever pass the environmental test, but I am willing to do the research to prove one way or another.

The political pressure [to use coal] will remain intense, and I think you have got to admit that coal -- of which we have a great and abundant supply in America -- is not going away. So how do we best manage the possibility of using clean coal, but having very strict environmental standards? It is not going to do us any good if we substitute one dirty energy source for another.

Q: What about nuclear power?

A: I am agnostic about nuclear. I am very skeptical that nuclear could become acceptable in most regions of the country, and I am doubtful that we have yet figured out how to deal with the waste. But I keep being given information about research that is being done to resolve the waste problem. I know that will continue because that has a lot of economic power and resources behind it. But until we can figure out what to do with the waste and overcome the political objections, we should not be putting a heavy emphasis on nuclear.

Q: Do you believe we need a carbon tax in addition to a cap-and-trade system?

A: There is a lot of interest now in figuring out what the most efficient and effective means of controlling and decreasing greenhouse gases would be. I'm looking for what will work and produce results. A cap-and-trade [program] can be designed and implemented in a number of ways. I would strongly favor using an auction for the allocation of the permits -- an auction that would [sell] as close to 100 percent of the permits as possible [rather than giving a percentage of them away for free]. But I think that there are a number of other serious proposals. I will entertain what I think are the best proposals that are politically viable. We still face tremendous opposition from the Republicans.

Whatever we do, we have to do it soon. We can't keep talking about it. If we can't get to the end point soon with a comprehensive proposal, then let's make as much progress as possible while we have a Republican president who is beholden to the oil companies and who is uninterested in taking action.

Q: Would you oppose subsidizing any technology that would worsen global warming, even if it would advance energy independence?

A: Absolutely. I believe that it has got to be two for the price of [one], it has got to be a win-win. We can't make the [global-warming] problem worse. Now, obviously, you have to have waivers because of national-security implications -- because if terrorists go after our oil supply, we are going to keep figuring out where to find oil, as we make a transition. It is always dangerous to say, "never" and "I will never do this." But certainly, my goal would be to subsidize clean technologies just like we subsidized gas, oil, and coal for years.

Q: How would you balance the call for higher fuel-economy standards with the call to help the U.S. auto industry? What fuel-economy targets would you support?