Or, in the home, tax credits and rebates for green products build awareness of those products, help develop a market and drive adoption. (Green incentives exist at various governmental levels from federal to city.) Similar incentives and disincentives could be used to herd drivers into auto-driving cars.

ENGADGET: Editorial: Self-driving cars FTW, but not for everybody

This has opened a window of opportunity for the Chinese government to finance, and for Chinese technology companies to develop, then manufacture these new green products.

FORBES: Why China Has To Dominate Green Tech

We will win the race to the top if we can develop the new high value products and services and the new green technologies that the rising numbers of hard-working families across our globe will want to buy.

BBC: In full: Brown's speech to Congress