Barack Obama was clearly the best choice for the USA Presidency and thankfully the American people decided to elect him with record voter turnouts in a historic election. President-elect Obama has a green vision for the US and one that should propel the US from being the world laggard in environmental protection, conservation and alternative energy innovation, into a leader and eco-friendly powerhouse of change.
Environmentalists will be delighted to know that Obama and Biden have agreed to re-engage with the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) - the main international forum dedicated to addressing the climate problem. They will also create a Global Energy Forum of the world’s largest emitters to focus exclusively on global energy and environmental issues. This is something the whole (green) world has been waiting for.
Let us all hope that President-elect Obama, and Vice-President Biden, stick to their promises and implement their plans for the environment and green energy initiatives. Though we are less enthusiastic about the promise of additional oil & gas drilling, ethanol as a fuel source and the continuing use of ‘clean’ coal technology. The American people have given Obama and Biden their environmental mandate and it is now the responsibility of the new US administration to deliver on their promises. The American people have voted for these initiatives and the American public need to be vigilant that the new administration players in Washington walk the eco-walk they have promised during their campaign.
We hope the Obama/Biden team can make America a leader in climate change reform. They have a tough, long road ahead of them, to change many entrenched anti-green idealogical ideas that have been firmly planted in the Bush administration. With a commanding lead in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, President-elect Obama and the Democratic Party will have all the freedom and authority to make significant and rapid changes.
We have summarised some important environmental issues from Barack Obama’s official policy document, New Energy for America, detailing the following as comprehensive objectives for the new Obama-Biden administration that they stood by in their election campaign:
• Crack down on excessive energy speculation in the financial and oil industry markets.• Swap oil from the strategic petroleum reserve to artificially cut prices.
• Help create five million new jobs by strategically investing $150 billion over the next ten years to catalyze private efforts to build a clean energy future.
• Ensure 10 percent of US electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025, while reducing electrical energy demand by 15% by 2020.
• Weatherize one million homes annually.
• Develop and deploy clean coal technology.
• Prioritize the construction of the Alaska natural gas pipeline.
• Within 10 years save more oil than the US currently imports from the Middle East and Venezuela combined, and eliminate oil import from these countries thereby saving US dollars and reducing strategic dependence upon foreign oil imports.
• Increase fuel economy standards by 4% per year and give US automakers a $4billion re-tooling credit.
• Create a new $7,000 tax credit for purchasing advanced vehicles.
• Establish a national low carbon fuel standard.
• A “Use it or Lose It” approach to existing oil and gas leases; where 68 million acres of land (40% off-shore) is leased for oil exploration but has not been drilled-on yet.
• Promote the responsible domestic production of oil and natural Gas: including the Bakken Shale formation, the Barnett shale formation, and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and the Alaskan pipeline upgrade.
• Put 1 million plug-in hybrid cars -- cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon -- on the road by 2015, cars that the administration will work to make sure are built in America. Reduce carbon content of fuel oils by 10% by 2020 and require 60 billion gallons of advanced biofuels to be used by 2030.
• Implement an economy-wide cap-and-trade program to reduce greenhouse gas emissions 80 percent by 2050. This policy will require all pollution credits to be auctioned, and proceeds will go to investments in a clean energy future, habitat protections, and rebates and other transition relief for families.
• Make the U.S. a Leader on climate change.
• Enter into public private partnerships to develop five “first-of-a-kind” commercial scale coal-fired plants with clean carbon capture and sequestration technology.
With President Barack Obama in the White House, tomorrow the world really will wake up to be a greener place. Thank you America for electing the greenest candidate for President.
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