Robinson predicts US under Obama could lead the green agenda

THE United States under Barack Obama could leave Europe far behind with its green agenda, creating jobs and wealth, former Irish president Mary Robinson said during the week.

Obama put the “planet in peril” as his No 2 concern when he summed up his challenges after his election, and is sending a parallel team to the UN climate change talks in Poland next month.

The president-elect, also facing an economic and jobs crisis, does not see the issue in terms of the green economy versus the growing economy, as the oil and some other industries insist.