The Americans didn't invent them either, the first succesfull submarine was constructed in 1620 by a dutchman for the english crown. Though reports of submarines go back as far as 400BC

You are sort of missing the point here really. To "solve" the global heating problem, just raising the fuel price is not what makes the diffrence. Structural changes is what does, structurally reducing the output of cars, factories and other CO2 producing sources. Finding and start using alternative energy sources, even if they are more expensive then the ones we use today. The smaller changes start at your own home, cycling to a friend who lives two blocks away. Buying a car that does not have 8 cylinders and burns through fuel faster then you can top it off. They will not have the greatest results, change only starts in the big picture. And there it doesnt matter if somebody is rich or not they still have to obey to the same rules.