"For the sake of our children and our future, we must do more to combat climate change," Obama said.

Notably, he wants to pursue a "market-based solution" to climate change and invest a portion of the revenues from oil and natural gas extraction on public lands in clean energy research and technology, "to shift our cars and trucks off oil for good.

"Let's ... free our families and businesses from the painful spikes in gas prices we've put up with for far too long," he said. "As long as countries like China keep going all-in on clean energy, so must we."

None of it is good news for Keystone XL pipeline supporters.

Republicans have bristled before at Obama's support for clean energy technology after Solyndra -- a solar power panel company -- went bankruptcy in 2011 after accepting a $500 million grant from the federal government.

Instead, the GOP wants Obama to approve the $7 billion Keystone XL pipeline, and Tuesday a Republican from North Dakota said he thinks Congress could over-rule the President if he turns the project down.

"The American people are on board. They want to work with Canada,"

Senator John Hoeven told QMI Agency earlier Tuesday. "I believe if he turns it down at this point, I think we have the votes in the Senate to overrule him.