The President's plans involved giving tax incentives to industry to encourage them to reduce greenhouse gases output on a "voluntary" basis. The President's plan also placed much emphasis on economic growth as the only way in which industry will have the means to invest in cleaner, environmentally-friendly technologies.

The Bush plan has naturally been scorned by environmentalists and the European Union because of its emphasis on voluntary reductions rather than the mandatory cuts agreed to in the Kyoto Accord.

Another plank of Bush's energy policy coming in for criticism is his plan to drill in the pristine regions of Alaska. Against the backdrop of war in Central Asia and using the theme of foreign oil as a threat to national security, Mr Bush pressed his case for the drilling oil and gas in the Artic regions of Alaska as a legitimate means of achieving greater domestic security.

In a classic case of NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) and BANANA (build-absolutely-nothing-anywhere-near-anyone), environmentalists are calling for the halt of new oil and natural gas drilling off the California coast.

The Bush Administration has proposed opening up 40 offshore California oil and gas tracts for new development. The State of California has halted new offshore drilling since 1989 though production continues on existing state and federal tracts.

One Californian politician even proposes offering energy companies that currently hold leases billions in credit to allow them to bid for leases in the Gulf of Mexico. The US Department of Interior said it is studying the proposal.