"Much of the current and projected rise in gasoline prices is due to rising oil consumption in Asia. These are emerging economies that are consuming more natural resources, one of which is oil. As Asian economies grow, their demand for oil is growing much faster than the global supply is growing. And that drives up prices", he said while addressing the 16th annual Energy Efficiency Forum in Washington.
"It is in our interest to help countries like India and China become more efficient users of hydrocarbons. That will help take the pressure off global supply. It will take the pressure off gasoline prices here", Bush said.
The US President said he would ask world leaders at the G-8 meeting next month to join America in helping developing countries find practical ways to use cleaner and more efficient energy technologies.
"When we lower the global demand for oil, Americans will be better off at the gas pump and future generations will breathe cleaner air too", he said.
"Here in America, we have become too dependent--too dependent--on the increasingly limited supply of foreign oil for our own energy needs".
Bush said for many years, most of the crude oil refined into gasoline in America came from domestic oil fields but that equation has been nearly reversed now.
In 1985, 75 per cent of the crude oil used in US refineries came from American sources and only about 25 per cent came from abroad, Bush said.
"Today, that equation is nearly reversed. In a relatively quick period of time, only about 35 per cent of the crude oil used in US refineries is produced here at home--think about it-- while about 65 per cent comes from foreign countries like Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela and Canada".
"...To compound the problem, countries with rapidly growing economies, like India and China, are competing for more of the world oil supply and that drives up the global price of oil, and that makes prices of gasoline higher for our families and small businesses and farmers", Bush said.
Suggesting measures to reduce America's dependence on oil, Bush said hybrid vehicles, which are powered by a combination of gasoline and electricity and produce lower emissions, could be used.
To help consumers conserve gas and protect the environment, he proposed that every American who purchases a hybrid vehicle receive a tax credit up to $4,000.
Automakers were also being encouraged to produce a new generation of modern, clean-diesel cars and trucks. Bush said his administration has issued new rules that would remove more than 90 per cent of the sulphur in diesel fuel by 2010.
Another step towards making the US less dependent on foreign oil was to produce and refine more crude oil at home in environmentally sensitive ways, he said stressing on the need to find alternative sources of fuel such as ethanol and bio-diesel.
