E3G

BBC website: Can the US break its oil addiction?

By Quentin de Molliens

During his recent annual state of the union address, President George W Bush announced the launch of an ‘Advanced Energy Initiative’ aimed at developing new technologies which could help the USA move beyond its current petroleum-based economy.

As part of this approach, President Bush restated his interest in new electricity generation technologies and called for increased investment.

The BBC website report on the speech includes quotes from E3G Chief Executive John Ashton, who points out that the influence of global warming must be being felt, despite the lack of explicit referrals, saying:

There must be some climate change thinking behind his references to zero-emissions coal because the only reason for capturing emissions is for climate reasons.”

John Ashton then added:

I would be looking for a sign that the US administration would be willing to invest in the range of technologies on a scale and with an urgency that will make a real impact on the climate problem.”