Obama Proposes $4 Billion for States Beating Climate Goals

The Obama administration is proposing a $4 billion fund to reward states that exceed cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions, and wants steeper royalty rates for oil, gas and coal extraction on public land.

In measures likely to be greeted skeptically by the Republican majority in Congress, President Barack Obama’s 2016 budget calls making permanent tax breaks for wind and solar, investing in Appalachian communities facing a steep drop in coal-industry employment and offering $2 billion of tax credits for coal plants that capture and bury their carbon emissions.