Thursday 22 January 2009

The future is green

Sworn into office just two days ago, all eyes are firmly focussed on Obama and what he will do to deliver the change that he has promised throughout his electoral campaign. In the midst of one of the world’s largest economic crisis, President Obama built his campaign on the promise of not only economic stimulus but also support for green technology.

Obama’s plans for a green tech economy are unlike any policies of the Bush administration. Rather than allowing the economy to overshadow and marginalise environmental concerns, the President wants to use environmental principles to help drive economic growth.

“A new energy economy is going to be part of what creates the millions of new jobs that we need," Obama said during a news conference last month.

Recently he selected alternative energy supporter and Nobel-prize winning physicist Steven Chu to head the Department of Energy and has also announced that he will invest $150bn dollars in green technology.

Although, many speculated that the financial crisis would but an end to green initiatives, but initial indications from the White House tell us otherwise.

However, it is not going to be easy to change attitudes and create the economic stimulus that he envisions in his own country. A green tech future, or a new energy economy as some prefer to call it, would certainly need global consensus and is unlikely to be achieved through national measures alone.

At home in the UK, the government assures us of its commitment of investing in a green future and creating a low carbon economy. It does this with measures such as targets to reduce carbon emissions by 80% before 2050, the creation of the new Department of Energy and Climate Change last October and the passing of the Climate Change Act last December. However, on the other hand gives the go ahead to build a new runaway and a sixth terminal at Heathrow Airport.

This decision makes me doubt how serious the government really are about creating a low carbon economy…We’ll have to wait and see if the future is really that green.

By Danielle Thomas

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