George Bush has pledged to increase the US’s use of renewable fuels and cut back on the country’s dependence on oil – but campaigners claim it’s too little, too late.
In his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday ( 23rd January), the US President said “energy security” was high on the government’s agenda and that he proposed to cut the projected use of gasoline by 20% over the next decade, while producing five times more ethanol and other biofuels for use in cars and trucks. Bush is also hoping to encourage the production of liquefied coal.
In an address that focused on America’s presence in Iraq, the President also added that policies will be put in place to improve fuel efficiency of road vehicles by 4% by 2010 for cars and 2012 for trucks.
However, critics of the Republican leader believe he hasn’t gone far enough. Last year Bush stated dramatically that America was “addicted to oil”, though the words chosen were more reserved this time around.
Friends of the Earth’s International Climate Coordinator Catherine Pearce said: “As leader of the world’s top polluter Mr Bush should face up to his nation’s global responsibilities and set targets for cutting US emissions. But President Bush appears unwilling to change direction and take urgent action to combat the devastating economic and environmental threats posed by climate change.”
Across the pond, Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change - a policy research group, said: “If this was a real effort to solve the climate problem, it would include large stationary sources and utilities.”
Frederick Smith, the chief executive of FedEx and a co-chairman of the Energy Security Leadership Council was more positive though, saying: “It’s a big change that the president has endorsed these new fuel-efficiency standards.”
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