Yes We Can!

Yes we can reduce our greenhouse gas emissions says the Obama administration in the States. Nobel Prize-winning physicist Steven Chu, if his position is confirmed next week, says he is going to pursue all policies to address just that.

Firstly Mr Chu is committed to reducing U.S. dependence on foreign oil which is good news indeed for most Americans (for reasons of economy and security as well) but this fact alone has provoked a conflict of opinion. Senators from states with oil and gas reserves see this– that’s cutting back on foreign oil - as a fine opportunity to increase home production. Currently the US produces around 4 per cent of the world’s oil but that apparently doesn’t take into account potentially untapped resources. But Mr Chu’s focus is on weaning Americans off oil and gas altogether. There has been some concern that the effect the credit crunch has had in reducing the costs of cars combined with the drop in the price of oil has been reviving for example the market for gas guzzlers. But the new administration is intent on promoting more energy efficiency as part of their measures to reduce oil imports as well as encouraging the use of bio fuels and solar energy.

The US oil producers are therefore unhappy about the proposed cap-and-trade system in which oil refineries and industrial facilities that have high emissions will have to pay more than those that invest in technologies that curb emissions.