Last night US President Barack Obama pushed for agreement on the Climate Change Bill currently being re-re-re-re-written in the Senate, during his Sate of the Union address. It seems, however, that getting an agreement will come at a very high cost to the strength of the bill and, thereby, to the climate as well.

President Obama said he was “…eager to advance the bipartisan effort” indicated that he was willing to give some signifiant concessions to the Republicans in order to get agreement on the bill. So what has he agreed to? Obama opened the door for new nuclear power in the US and hinted that there will be more offshore oil drilling and has given his support to controversial biofuels and “clean coal”.

That means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country. It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development. It means continued investment in advanced biofuels and clean coal technologies

He also gave his support for a “comprehensive” bill which, according to The Guardian’s Suzanne Goldenberg, means it will be broad and pave the way for a cap-and-trade system. This will likely leave plenty of loop-holes for clever fossil-fuel company lawyers to get stuck into.

Obama said “Yes we can save this world” well, not if he acts like this.