Americans' obligations are not just to self, 'but to all posterity,' Obama says. | REUTERS Obama: Action on climate change

President Barack Obama promised in his inaugural speech to take on climate change in his second term, setting the stage for a series of bruising policy battles over energy, the environment and foreign affairs.

Americans' obligations are not just to self, “but to all posterity,” Obama said. “We will respond to the threat of climate change, knowing that the failure to do so would betray our children and future generations.”


( Also on POLITICO: Obama: 'Our work begins today')

Any efforts to push aggressive climate change measures through Congress are sure to encounter resistance from lawmakers, some of whom remain unconvinced by the scientific evidence or are wary of rules that would raise energy costs.

Still, Obama’s strong language suggests that recent efforts by environmentalists to appeal to the president’s sense of legacy on the issue have hit home, and the president made the issue central to his otherwise brief speech.

And he indicated a path forward for the members of Congress who say that climate change does not exist as the result of man-made pollution.

“Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, and crippling drought, and more powerful storms,” Obama said.

Green groups hailed the comments, which they said could signal a shift in the administration’s priorities.

“The president appears to see that his legacy will be shaped by how he responds to this greatest challenge. And history won’t accept Congressional intransigence as a reason not to act,” World Wildlife Fund’s Lou Leonard said. “Today’s address is an important first step for using the power of the presidency to spur a practical national conversation on climate change.”

The administration had previously declared that climate change is a danger to human health and welfare, after the Supreme Court opened the door to such a move in 2007. That determination, and the stricter emissions rules for automobiles that followed, along with others, was vindicated by the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit last summer.

The Obama EPA already issued first-time greenhouse gas regulations for cars and proposed a rule that would limit carbon pollution from new power plants, after a legislative effort to create a cap-and-trade system was killed in Congress in 2010. To further regulate greenhouse gas emissions does not require action from the deeply divided Congress.

The administration is due to finalize the proposal for new power plants by March, and under the Clean Air Act, that will set up the next step for the administration: regulating greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants.

Environmentalists are hopeful that the president’s inaugural speech indicates he will now support strong regulations for power plants, which are the nation’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

The White House has been reluctant to talk about future plans over the last year, under pressure from opponents of regulating climate change who say coming down on the power industry could lay great strain on the already-struggling economy.

At least one skeptic of climate action said any action by the United States alone is doomed to hurt the country and have little effect on the global environment.

"Indeed, inflexible national policies unfortunately restrain our economy without delivering promised solutions," said Scott Segal, partner at the Policy Resolution Group at Bracewell Giuliani, who represents power, oil and gas and refining companies.

Both the energy industry and green groups are pressing the administration hard on the Keystone XL pipeline that oil companies say is crucial to reducing imports from hostile nations but environmentalists fear will foster a massive carbon-emitting source from the Canadian oil sands. The administration is expected to make a decision on whether to permit the pipeline soon, perhaps in the coming weeks.

“Starting with rejecting the Keystone XL pipeline, the president must make fighting global warming a central priority,” Environment America Executive Director Margie Alt said.

Obama also said in his speech he hopes to push forward on making the U.S. a world leader in renewable energy.

“The path towards sustainable energy sources will be long and sometimes difficult. But America cannot resist this transition; we must lead it. We cannot cede to other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries — we must claim its promise,” he said.

“That is how we will maintain our economic vitality and our national treasure — our forests and waterways; our croplands and snowcapped peaks. That is how we will preserve our planet, commanded to our care by God. That’s what will lend meaning to the creed our fathers once declared.”

Obama’s strong words followed a surprise visit by Vice President Joe Biden Sunday night to the “Green Ball,” an inaugural weekend event that was a who’s who of environmentalists and Cabinet-level administration officials.

"I'll tell you what my green dream is: that we finally face up to climate change," Biden said Sunday night. Biden said he doesn’t “intend on ending this four years without getting an awful lot more done,” and told the thousands in attendance to “keep the faith.”

But exactly how the president would move forward in a second term on bolstering clean energy remains a question, particularly given the strong ongoing opposition from many in Congress to federal investment strategies of the past four years.

“It will now take a sustained campaign by the president, his Cabinet officials, and the rest of his team to mobilize the American people in support of this effort and to overcome the opposition of entrenched interests to the rapid transition away from fossil fuels that's needed to stabilize the climate,” said Union of Concerned Scientists Director of Strategy and Policy Alden Meyer.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 12:43 p.m. on January 21, 2013.