The federal government of the United States will triple its use of renewable energy by 2020 on a presidential mandate.

US President Barack Obama has issued an executive order that the government will massively increase its use of renewable sources of energy.

The presidential executive order includes the military, and can be instituted without the blessing of the country’s Congress.

President Obama says increasing the use of sustainable energy forms will; “promote energy security, combat climate change, protect the interests of taxpayers and safeguard the health of our environment.”

Obama wants the US Government, one of the country’s largest consumers of energy, to be a beacon for positive change to all its industries.

The Obama administration has already reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 15 per cent since assuming office, but has recently been criticised for missing targets to address America’s environmental issues. It also has a separate program within the military to raise its usage of renewable energy to 25 per cent by 2025.

The move reflects similar international advances towards an energy-efficient future; China has doubled the pace of its renewable energy increases over this year, while the UK will invest the equivalent of A$72.7 billion in renewable energy by 2020.

At the same time, the Australian government has moved in the opposite direction by significantly cutting expenditure on renewable energy projects.

The terms of reference for reform of Australia's energy market have been announced, with upcoming meetings to focus on coal seam and other gas developments, easier mineral exploration and reduced energy market regulation. There are no sessions planned on the topic of renewable energy.