The World in 2030

174 The World in 2030
accelerated this public awareness by taxing gas, making
it routinely two to three times as expensive as
gas in the US. More than 85 per cent of new auto
buyers in Europe are concerned with fuel efficiency.
Fewer than 15 per cent of Americans care about fuel
efficiency, because in a world of cheap oil, they don’t
have to. 330
It is fair to say that America now finds itself in a truly lousy
position regarding the future security of its energy supplies.
The country has an extreme dependence on imported oil and
a cultural and political dependence on low energy prices. It
also has poor security over its future oil supplies which may
make the heavily-armed nation even more dangerous to the
rest of the world in the decades to come.
In the light of the need for urgent action on climate
change, a looming shortage of oil and predictions that suggest
that the world will consume up to double the amount of
energy by 2030, governments around the world are rising
to the challenge in various ways and with varying degrees of
commitment.
In cloudy, temperate Ireland the government has
announced ambitious targets 331 for new energy generation
from renewable sources; meanwhile, sun-drenched Greece
is being criticised 332 for falling far short of EU goals on
renewable energy. Portugal, on the other hand, is making
major investments in renewable energy sources and is
building one of Europe’s largest wind farms. 333 In Africa,
Kenya has taken the lead 334 in planning for a future energy
budget based on more sustainable energy sources and it