Margrethe Vestager, the Executive Vice President of the European Commission for A Europe Fit for the Digital Age, gave a speech at Princeton University in New Jersey on April 8 concerning the opening of an investigation into Chinese subsidies to the production of equipment for European "wind parks". Describing thousands of acres devoted only to gigantic twirling windmills as a "park" is more Orwell speak but that's PR.
politico.com
The substance of the Danish bureaucrat's talk was that the Chinese over-production of subsidized turbine equipment would lead to their domination of that market, just as they became the world's major producer of solar panels and EVs. At the same time as her presentation US Treasury matron Janet Yellen was on her way back from a week-long visit to the Celestial Empire involving conversations on that subject with upper level Chinese economic figures.
Any kind of an analysis of this situation leads to the same conclusion. Saving the world from existential climate change is secondary to making money. Since global north nations are commanding the elimination of CO2 from the energy complex, solar panels and wind turbines are an immediate requirement needed to replace deadly hydrocarbon generators. If those components are purchased at low prices from Chinese suppliers the profit potential for the transition is dramatically reduced, even though the electricity produced by foreign equipment is identical to Danish power. Ironically, most, if not all, wind farms and solar arrays are heavily subsidized.
The European Union should be happy that they will be able to quickly and cheaply arrest climate armageddon with the help of the Chinese. But that's not the case. In the beginning, some observers felt that climate change anxiety was being spurred by Marxist or radical elements. That may have been true to some extent, especially in academia. But the farther along the fight to save the planet progresses, it turns out that government policies and corporate aims are closely aligned. Academics, media figures, un-elected bureaucrats, financial titans and eco-oriented businesses all have a big stake in CO2 elimination.
The Chinese response, from Asia Times: “The EU’s approach obviously violated the free trade principle and
seriously interfered with the normal cooperation between Chinese and
European industries,” He Yadong, a spokesperson of China’s Ministry of
Commerce, said Thursday. “It is a typical form of protectionism. The EU should not hold high the banner of fighting climate change with
one hand while wielding the stick of protectionism with another hand,”
He added.
There's also no time to fool around in addressing the as yet undetectable problem. Global events and domestic politics have a way of intruding on even the best plans and who can guarantee that existential anthropogenic global warming will stay high on the list of human concerns into the future. The time for financial rewards is now.
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