These programs help taxpayers save money on their utility bills, they return a positive investment for the country, and they help the UK meet its Kyoto target. Publicly, George W. Bush might be tempted to decry this type of government expenditure, but as an oilman he no doubt knows that the American petroleum industry is subsidized to the tune of billions of dollars per year. The U.K. is also mandating alternative energy production. By 2010, utilities will need to increase the country's renewable energy supply from 2 percent to 10 percent. Like the U.S., the U.K. has enormous potential to harness wind energy, and BP, its biggest petroleum firm, owns the world's largest solar company.
Renewable energy is one area where there is at least a glimmer of hope in the new administration.
To be sure, Bush's energy policy focuses heavily on fossil fuels, and includes destructive measures like opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploitation. But in Texas, thanks to the lobbying of environmentalists and Bush's friend and benefactor Sam Wiley, a wealthy entrepreneur who owns Green Mountain Power, Governor Bush signed a bill akin to the U.K. law, setting minimum requirements for alternative energy in Texas. And about 10 percent of the total revenues from the climate change levy will go to help companies needing capital for efficiency improvements. Europe's economy promises to be more efficient thanks to its forward-looking climate change policy. Based on Bush's emerging brain trust, however, we wouldn't advise Americans to hold their breath.