Saturday, May 14 2005 10:03 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: US President George W Bush yesterday (May 13, 2005) said America should help growing fuel consumers like China and India use energy more efficiently in order to reduce the global demand for oil.

"We must help growing energy consumers overseas like China and India. We must help them apply new technologies so they can use energy more efficiently and reduce the global demand for oil," Bush said addressing the National Association of Realtors.

Aid to India and China were part of the "four key steps" in the plan he presented to deal with the need to have "access to affordable, reliable and a secure supply of energy".

Explaining the three other steps he said, "First, we must be better conservers of energy. And we can use technology in a wise way to encourage conservation."

"Secondly, we must find innovative and environmentally sensitive ways to make the most of our existing energy resources, including oil and natural gas and coal, as well as safe, clean nuclear power."

"Third, we must develop promising new sources of energy, such as hydrogen and ethanol and biodiesel."

Emphasising on the need for access to affordable, reliable and secure supply of energy, he said, "Millions of small businesses and families are hurting because of higher gasoline prices. When gasoline prices go up, it's like taxing people - taxing our families, it's taxing small businesses."

I understand if you're trying to meet a payroll, or trying to meet a family budget, small changes at the pump can have a big impact on your life. And that's why we have got to address the root causes that are driving up the price of gasoline," the US President said.

"We need to address the root causes that are causing gasoline prices to go up. The root cause is that we're consuming energy faster than we're producing it, which means we're becoming more dependent on oil from overseas," he said.