Obama avoids Keystone, praises natural gas, threatens to yank tax breaks (Video)

When it comes to energy, President Barack Obama says tough choices will have to be made. 

He praised the oil and gas industry, especially natural gas, while at the same time saying he’ll take away their tax breaks in favor of renewable energy.

Then, he said the two words that oil executives dread most.

“But the debate is settled. Climate change is a fact,” Obama said in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. “And when our children’s children look us in the eye and ask if we did all we could to leave them a safer, more stable world, with new sources of energy, I want us to be able to say yes, we did.”

He made no mention of the Keystone XL Pipeline, which has been awaiting approval since Obama took office in 2009. TransCanada’s oil pipeline requires approval from Obama’s administration because it crosses international borders.

He reiterated his “all-of-the-above strategy” for energy that he says brings America closer to energy independence.

Specifically, he touted natural gas as a “bridge fuel” that produces less carbon pollution. He said he’ll “cut red tape” to help states build factories that use natural gas. Private industry expects to spend $100 billion on the factories.

T. Boone Pickens, a longtime advocate of natural gas, tweeted “BINGO #SOTU #natgas” during the president’s speech.

Pickens released a statement after the speech saying he wants to get the U.S. off foreign oil while switching heavy-duty trucks to natural gas.

“I’m encouraged by the President’s focus on natural gas and transportation,” Pickens said. “But remember, a plan without action isn’t a plan, it’s a speech. I look forward to seeing how the President and Congress follow through.”

Nicholas covers the energy, manufacturing, aviation and transportation beats for the Dallas Business Journal. Subscribe the Energy Inc. newsletter