Obama stresses clean energy benefits for U.S.

U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday emphasized the climate and economic benefits for the United States to develop clean energy.

"We are here today because we believe no challenge poses greater threat to our future than climate change," said Obama at the National Clean Energy Summit held in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Developing clean energy has helped the United States reduce the dangerous emissions that contribute to climate change, grow the economy and create a steady frame of well-paying jobs, said Obama.

"There are more than 500 wind manufacturers across 43 states supplying the wind industry," he said, adding the wind industry as a whole has supported more than 50,000 jobs after quick development in the last few years.

"Last year, solar industry added jobs ten times faster than the rest economy," Obama said, adding "solar industry has now employed twice as many Americans as mining coal."

Obama also stressed the importance of the Clean Power Plan unveiled by his government earlier this month, saying it is "the single most important step Americans have ever taken to combat climate change" and it will create jobs, save folks money and generate more clean energy.

The Clean Power Plan has set a target to cut U.S. power plants' emission of carbon dioxide by 32 percent by 2030, from 2005 levels, which has aroused great opposition from the fossil energy sector and states with rich fossil fuel resources.

On the same day, the U.S. government announced a series of new measures to help the states to implement the Clean Power Plan, by providing more financial incentives to households that use more renewable energy and improve their home energy efficiency. Endi