Green China
China Matches Renewable Energy Goals of the West
This is a rather giant, China-sized reversal of expectations. With all the bad environmental conditions highlighted by the recent Olympics in China along with the seemingly frustrated negotiations on climate change, the fact that China is setting forth on a renewable energy plan that basically matches plans in the West, 20% renewables by 2020, puts a great big competitive spin on the future of sustainable electricity infrastructure. This is the smart choice for China, and it should have welcome effects on how seriously the West, and more specifically, the US, approaches these inevitable and necessary changes. The pervasive and stubborn myth that short-term costs outweigh the long-term rewards must come to terms with the broader economic reality that there will be trillions upon trillions of dollars in future markets in which we can either be profitable innovators or paying customers. And with the huge investment demands of such markets, the unilateral dictates of China’s system will have inherent advantages over our multilateral democratic plus market-based system. This has to be addressed in the early stages. With China now crowding in on the competitive mix, we’re going to have to come to terms sooner than later.
UPDATE: See also: this.