It's clear that the world needs to address climate and energy initiatives, but the best way to accomplish that mission remains in a fog at best.

Advocates for a comprehensive energy/emissions bill caution that the failure to implement such a plan could result in worldwide catastrophic damage, and environmental groups like the Sierra Club stress that the United States must take the lead in reducing carbon emissions.

But critics of proposed U.S. cap-and-trade emission legislation say that such a program would amount to little more than a tax that would unfairly disadvantage high-energy-intensive industries such as steel.

While the President might wish for a comprehensive climate and energy bill by the end of the year, there are many on both sides of the issue who believe that timetable is unrealistic at best. The Obama administration, pushing for a bill to cut greenhouse gas emissions, favors a cap-and-trade program that would let companies trade pollution allowances on an open market.

The first climate change draft bill in the 111th...