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In this week's Costing The Earth Tom Heap asks what the falling price of oil means for the environment.

First thoughts would be 'not good'. Lower prices mean that people don't need to be so careful how much fuel they use so what will the consequences of this be? Will this halt the steady decline in car sales? Will people turn their heating up a notch when they're feeling chilly?

Those are the direct impacts on people, but look further and could the drop in oil prices spell disaster for the renewable energy industry?

And what will oil companies do? Will production rise, pushing prices down further? Or with prices falling, will oil companies find it increasingly expensive and barely cost effective to reach those hard to reach oil reserves?

But it's far more complicated than that. Political insecurities and tensions around the world in oil producing states all help to paint a very complicated picture.

Tom Heap tries to find his way through the political and economic maze to find out what hope there is for the environment should prices continue to drop.

Presenter: Tom Heap
Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.