E2-Wire

Senate climate hawk applauds ‘sea change’ from Obama

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), a climate hawk who hasn’t been afraid to criticize the White House, really likes what he sees these days from President Obama.

Whitehouse tells The Washington Post there’s been a “sea change” from Obama, who unveiled a second-term climate agenda in a June speech that includes carbon emissions rules for power plants.

“It does not appear to be ‘just make a speech and walk away,’” Whitehouse told the Post. “It appears to be a lasting and real policy shift.”

{mosads}His comments are part of a much wider piece on Obama’s second-term environmental agenda and the new Cabinet-level officials, such as EPA head Gina McCarthy and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, who will carry it out.

Check it out here.