Obama confirms energy and environment appointments

US president-elect Barack Obama yesterday announced the appointment of Nobel Prize winning physicist Steven Chu as his energy secretary and Carol Browner as the White House head of energy and environmental policies.

Completing his environmental and energy team, Obama also named Lisa Jackson, chief of staff for the governor of New Jersey, as head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Los Angeles deputy mayor Nancy Sutley to head the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Speaking at a press conference in Chicago to announce the new appointments, Obama reiterated his pre-election commitment to make energy and environmental issues a central plank of his administration.

While acknowledging that several presidents had tried to wean the US off its reliance on oil imports in the past, Obama said that the twin threats of energy insecurity and climate change meant that "this time must be different".

"All of us know the problems that are rooted in our addiction to foreign oil, " he said. "It constrains our economy, shifts wealth to hostile regimes and leaves us dependent on unstable regions."

He also reiterated his view that the creation of a low carbon "hybrid economy " could help create jobs and stimulate the flagging US economy, hinting that despite the recession efforts to curb carbon emissions must continue. "This time we cannot fail, nor can we be lulled into complacency simply because the price at the pump has for now gone down from $4 (£2.6) a gallon," he said.

The appointment of the new team was broadly welcomed by environmental groups who interpreted it as a signal of Obama's commitment to putting into practice his various climate change strategies.

Chu, who currently directs Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California is a staunch supporter of alternative energy sources and has said in the past that using coal to generate electricity is an environmental "nightmare ". Meanwhile, Browner, who will act as the president's point person on environmental and energy issues, formerly served as head of the EPA under president Clinton.

In related news, The New York Times reported that Obama was to appoint Colorado Senator Ken Salazar as interior secretary.

The move is again likely to be welcomed by environmentalists. Salazar is regarded as conservationist and has previously voiced opposition towards proposals to extract oil shale on public lands.