Costing the Earth - Obama's Green Dream

Tom Heap asks whether political and vested interests will shatter President Obama's dream of leading the United States and the world towards a greener future.

Obama campaigned for a low-carbon economy and as soon as he came to power he set about laying the foundations for one. He wants to create green jobs in traditional industries like car making - electric cars of course - and construction, making American homes and offices more energy efficient. His biggest challenge will be to wean the country off its dependence on fossil fuels and make 'clean' energy profitable. For that he needs to bring in a system called carbon cap and trade and needs the support of senators and members of congress to do so. However, even members of his own party are reluctant to back what they see as a vote-losing policy and energy companies with investments in coal, gas and oil are lobbying hard against it. Can the President prevail?