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Despite postelection nods toward cooperation, Republicans, who will hold the majority in Congress next year, appear poised to clash with President Obama over a range of energy and environmental issues, including the controversial Keystone XL pipeline and important rules addressing climate change, smog and water pollution.

Congressional Republicans have long argued that environmental regulations kill jobs and that fossil fuel development, especially on federal lands, should be expanded.

Now they are in a position to blunt the administration's regulatory efforts on the environment while accelerating their own projects, such as the proposed extension of the Keystone XL pipeline, which has been criticized as environmentally unsound.

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), expected to ascend to majority leader after winning reelection in part because of success in Kentucky coal country, told the Lexington Herald-Leader that his top priority would be "to try to do whatever I can to get the [Environmental Protection Agency] reined in."

Business allies predict that Republicans will rely on their oversight authority of the EPA, new legislation and inserts into unrelated must-pass bills to try to compel the president to accept their agenda.

If Republicans attach measures that would block or change environmental rules to budget proposals or other major legislation, the president "would be then confronted with a choice," said Scott Segal, a lobbyist for the energy industry in Washington. "'Do I essentially shut down the EPA or do I work with Republicans in the House and in the Senate to reform my proposal?'"

It remains unclear how Obama would respond to such tactics, though he has signaled since the election that he won't change his strategy for dealing with Congress. He has had advanced his environmental agenda through executive orders and agency rule-making.

Given what momentum the administration has on its environmental priorities, it has little incentive to back away from them, environmentalists said.

"In previous fights, the president has made it clear he will not be cowed by people trying to load up spending bills with provisions the public doesn't support," said David Goldston, lobbyist for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "In the past, the White House has stood up to that, and we are confident they will again."

The president has made global warming, in particular, a priority as he tries to shape his legacy, and the EPA's limits on heat-trapping emissions from cars and power plants are the most sweeping steps taken by any country to combat climate change.

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Republicans in Congress poised to clash with Obama over environment