Germany seems to be a rare case in which politics, industry, and activism have worked more or less in concert to develop sustainable energy infrastructures, and promote green job markets that outmatch anything currently seen in the rest of the world. Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen has tabled a widely supported bill calling for a new system of tariffs aimed at relieving clean energy companies of the existing system in which the rely upon government subsidies in order to compete on a level playing field with coal.

And U.S. lawmakers are moving towards taking proven policy models from Europe and applying them at home. The message is obvious: If you create emissions, you will pay for it. If you stay green, you will come out on top.” The few companies that have already incorporated these ideals into their business models will see a big advantage over their competition early on, while those that are still ignoring the need to go green will suffer.

The current government and Congress are being forced to address the climate realities of the 21st Century. In a carbon-limited environment, a long-term and rising U.S. carbon tax is absolutely necessary to reduce or limit the carbon and greenhouse gas emissions that are contributing to global warming.

In October of 2008, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 263 to 171 to pass new legislation extending for up to 8 years the 30% investment tax credit for all solar power installations. It is the most important policy ever created for the natural energy industry.

Rhone Resch, president of the SEIA said that this bill is a significant step in our movement toward independance from traditional energy and will make sure that natural energy will be a big part of the USA’s energy future. He also stated that the extension of tax credits will create a large internal solar energy industry, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and giving millions of American households and businesses access to clean, affordable, carbon-neutral energy. He expects that, by 2016, solar energy will be the most affordable form of energy in the USA.