US president Barack Obama unveiled plans last night for a limited expansion of US offshore oil and gas drilling in an effort to win Republican support for new proposals to fight climate change.
Opening up parts of the US Atlantic coast, Alaska and possibly offshore Florida to exploration is Mr Obama's latest effort to woo legislators needed to pass a climate bill before mid-term elections in November.
Some senior Republicans in Congress called the drilling announcement a step in the right direction but said Mr Obama did not go far enough.
Environmental groups and some congressional liberals condemned the plan for endangering wildlife and coastal areas merely to give oil companies more profits.
Mr Obama, who needs bipartisan support to pass a bill that would set limits on US greenhouse gas emissions, cautioned that expanding drilling was not a catch-all answer to US energy challenges.
"Drilling alone can't come close to meeting our long-term energy needs, and for the sake of our planet and our energy independence, we need to begin the transition to cleaner fuels now," Mr Obama said at Andrews Air Force Base in nearby Maryland.
"I know that we can come together to pass comprehensive energy and climate legislation that's going to foster new energy -- new industries, create millions of new jobs, protect our planet, and help us become more energy independent."
Mr Obama has made energy security and reducing US reliance on foreign oil a key policy goal, and Republican support for drilling - exemplified by cries of "drill, baby, drill!" at presidential campaign rallies for Republican Senator John McCain in 2008 - has made offshore exploration a key bargaining chip in trying to get his energy legislation passed.
But Mr Obama's proposal came with significant limits.
Energy companies would not be able to drill on the US West Coast or in Northeast waters, but would be able to explore off the Atlantic Coast from Delaware to Florida and 125 miles beyond Florida's shore in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.
Reuters