"There was agreement on the sense of urgency required to move forward with legislation and the president is confident that we will be able to get something done this year," the White House said in a statement describing the meeting.

The senators -- 15 Democrats, seven Republicans and an independent -- were invited for the discussion on getting an energy and climate change bill passed even as the United States struggles with its worst environmental disaster, a massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The meeting also came as King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia -- a key US oil supplier -- paid a delayed visit to the White House.

Obama told senators he still supports a "cap and trade" system, putting a price on pollution "because when companies pollute, they should be responsible for the costs to the environment and their contribution to climate change," a White House statement said.

A measure introduced by Democratic Senator John Kerry and independent Joe Lieberman aims to cut greenhouse gases by 17 percent from 2005 levels, using "cap and trade" to sell pollution rights.

How to address with carbon emissions is the major sticking point in the legislation as Republicans reject the idea of any kind of carbon tax.

Obama, who has tried to harness anger over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to forge what he called a new "national mission" on clean energy, had called for the bipartisan meeting to discuss the climate legislation.

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