Tom Doggett, Reuters 28 Jan 08;
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will commit $2 billion over the next three years for a new international fund to promote clean energy technologies and fight climate change, President George W. Bush will tell Congress on Monday in his annual State of the Union speech.
"Let us create a new international clean technology fund, which will help developing nations like India and China make greater use of clean energy sources," Bush said in excerpts of his speech released by the White House.
Bush said the United States is committed to working with major economies and the United Nations to complete an international agreement that "has the potential to slow, stop and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gases."
"This agreement will be effective only if it includes commitments by every major economy and gives none a free ride," Bush said.
Delegates from the biggest greenhouse gas-polluting countries will meet this week in Hawaii to spur U.N. negotiations for an international climate agreement by 2009 that would replace the current carbon-capping Kyoto Protocol expiring in 2012.
The Bush administration rejects the Kyoto plan, saying it unfairly exempts developing countries from cutting their emissions and could hurt the U.S. economy. Bush favors voluntary measures and "aspirational goals" to limit climate change.
On energy issues, Bush once again called for the United States to cut back on its use of oil, which earlier this month hit a record $100.09 a barrel, by developing new sources of energy.
"To build a future of energy security, we must trust in the creative genius of American researchers and entrepreneurs and empower them to pioneer a new generation of clean energy technology. Our security, our prosperity, and our environment all require reducing our dependence on oil," Bush said.
He said the United States needs to generate more of its electricity from clean coal, solar and wind energy and nuclear power.
However, Bush did not give up on oil altogether and urged Congress to pass legislation that would open to drilling more offshore U.S. waters and parts of Alaska where energy exploration is now banned.
Bush also again called on Congress to approve doubling the size of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, which can now hold about 727 million barrels of emergency oil supplies at four underground storage sites in Texas and Louisiana.
(Reporting by Tom Doggett; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
