The US is now the world leader in new low emission technologies, unfortunately its ambitions do not stretch very far beyond energy self sufficiency. It is not interested in signing up to any kind of emmission quotas that will have a tangible cost, especially not in the middle of a recession. The US is still the world's greatest polluter per capita, although China and India may be set to take the crown in the not too distant future.
It's a positive development on the whole no doubt, but lets not mistake practicality for ideology. The focus on the technologies of the future started in the early days of the Bush administration, which should the the only proof needed that the motive here is one of national interest. Unless these clean technologies are going to be cheaper than the old ones, there isn't much hope that they are going to be embraced by the developing world though.