Republican leader says cap-and-trade is over if GOP controls Congress

If Republicans gain control of Congress in the upcoming election it would signal the end of cap-and-trade legislation, said minority leader John Boehner of Ohio. "This election is going to be a referendum on their job-killing policies, one of which is cap and trade," Boehner said in an interview with Fox News. President Obama "himself has appeared to acknowledge the diminished likelihood for a 2011 debate on a broad cap-and-trade system for limiting U.S. emissions," Elana Schor of Environment & Energy Daily reports.

"There'll be no tax increases; there'll be no cap and trade," Boehner said of a Republican-controlled Senate. In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Obama said while climate change would be one of his top priorities next year, "we may end up having to do it in chunks." Not every Republican agreed that winning election results for Republicans means an end to energy legislation. "Several GOP senators predicted recently that a more evenly divided Congress could pave the way for consensus next year on smaller-scale environmental measures, such as a renewable electricity standard or incentives for alternative fuel vehicles," Schor writes. (Read more, subscription required)