Senate Republican minority leader Mitch McConnell told Obama that a bi-partisan majority existed in the Senate against the bill, as the president says the spill shows that long-term over reliance on fossil fuels is untenable.

"We are perfectly happy to work with the administration on legislation that might be appropriate, directly related to the spill in the Gulf," McConnell said after a meeting between Obama and Democratic and Republican leaders.

But he warned against "seizing on the oil spill in the Gulf and using that as a rationale, if you will, for passing a national energy tax referred to down here at the White House as 'cap and trade.'"

"The goal here is to seize on the oil spill in the Gulf in order to generate something totally unrelated to that," McConnell told reporters.

"In the United States Senate there is bipartisan opposition to a national energy tax."

McConnell's words signaled an escalation of a looming battle of environmental policy, energy and climate change in the US Senate, coinciding with the volatile politics of a congressional election year.

Moments earlier, Obama had said after the meeting that he realized the United States would not be able to wean itself off oil for years, but needed to start work on alternative fuels and a new generation energy policy.

"We have to move on an energy agenda that is forward looking, that creates jobs."

"We can't keep our eye off the importance of having an energy policy that meets the needs of the next generation and ensures that the United States is the leader when it comes to energy policy."

Obama said last week that following the BP oil spill, he will redouble efforts to get a bill reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the Senate.

While shying away from the politically charged term, "cap and trade" the Democratic Senate bill in effect sets up a such a system, limiting carbon emissions by businesses but giving them an incentive by allowing trade in credits.

But the Senate bill will only pertain to 7,500 factories and power plants across the United States which each produce more than 25,000 tons of carbon pollution annually.

Mindful of the uncertain economy, the bill would require no emission curbs by manufacturers until 2016, exempts farmers entirely and promises that revenue generated be returned to consumers.

Obama also said at the meeting Thursday said that existing US law, which caps liability for compensation payments by oil firms which cause damaging spills at 75 million dollars was inadequate and needed to be changed.

"We had a frank conversation about the fact that the laws that have been in place have not been adequate for a crisis of this magnitude.

"The Oil Pollution Act was passed at a time when people didn't envision drilling four miles under the sea for oil."

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