WASHINGTON, June 20 (UPI) -- Climate change policies in the United States should not fall victim to bipartisan politicking, the White House energy adviser said.
President Obama described climate change as one of the top threats to the international community in a wide-ranging speech Wednesday in Berlin.
Obama's administration has been criticized by environmental groups for lacking a clear-cut climate policy. The president said Wednesday, however, it was time to act.
"Our generation must move toward a global compact to confront a changing climate before it is too late," he said. "That is our job. That is our task. We have to get to work."
White House energy adviser Heather Zichal was quoted by online news magazine Politco as saying the president will outline new energy policies that would not require additional funding or legislation to move forward.
"It's time to turn this issue from a red-state [Republican], blue-state [Democrat] issue to an American issue, and frankly that's what I think you'll be seeing from the president and the rest of his Cabinet -- a sustained focus on depoliticizing the climate on climate policy," she was quoted as saying after the president's speech.
Zichal said the plan may include benchmarks for renewable energy, energy efficiency and reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.
