Essay

➢ Obama had announced a « Green New Deal »; What does it mean, how much has been delivered?

“It is time for us to lay a new foundation of economic growth by beginning a new era of energy exploration in America” stated Barack Obama. Indeed, on November 5, 2008 Mr Obama elected president of The United States focused on the environment throughout his campaign.

He decided to set up a Green Bill to improve the American way of life. His investment plan will be 150 billion dollars over 10 years to promote sustainable development. His main goal is to develop renewable energy. In fact, his first idea is to increase the price of electricity by developing solar, wind and biomass. He wants that 10 percent of electricity will be from renewable sources by 2012. In this context, the large Spanish company Gamesa won the wind systems installation market in Pennsylvania. He deals with another subject which is the pollution. Concerning the automotive sector, his objective is to develop a “clean” economy. He wants a million hybrid cars in 2010. For example he wants to eliminate oil imports from The Middle-East and Venezuela. Detroit manufacturers await the release of 50 billion loan promised to the “Big Three” (General Motors, ford, Chrysler). Moreover, to reduce air pollution, he promulgated the establishment of a national market for CO2 emission permits.
He requires polluting companies to buy a “right to pollute” from low-polluting firms. For example, greenhouse gas emissions felt by 2.8 percent to reach lowest level since 2001.

However, his position on the nuclear power development is ambivalent. In fact, he does not want nuclear waste to dump in the Nevada desert, despite of the nuclear power benefit decreasing the emitted CO2. Barack Obama is the only one in this idea of sustainable development. Indeed the Johannesburg 2002 summit was already a questioning already on renewable energy. 296 worlds

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