US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton believes the current financial crisis offers an opportunity to rebuild economies on a greener model.

Clinton, on a visit to the European Parliament, reiterated the importance President Barack Obama places on tackling climate change. The current thinking in the White House is that the economic crisis, energy security issues and climate change can all be dealt with under a “New Green Deal” replacing the high-carbon infrastructure with green alternatives creating millions of jobs in the process. “We cannot afford to waste energy or resources, we all must be focused on the same agenda. I pledged American support for EU initiatives to build a single energy market and to diversify gas supplies. EU leadership and unity were pivotal in resolving Russia’s recent gas cutoff to Ukraine and Europe and that leadership may be needed again in the future,” she said. The European Union will looking to the US for strong support in the upcoming global climate talks in Copenhagen in December now that the new administration has rejected the energy policies of previous president George W Bush.More about: European Union, USA

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