China's Growing Green Credentials make U.S. see red...
...China is pulling ahead of the US in terms of the green economy and is leaving our nation behind:
• China has cornered the global rare earth element market and is now increasingly also becoming the world's major manufacturer of the advanced technologies that depend on rare earth elements in order to function – technologies that are critical for a non-fossil fuel based economy. Advanced batteries, electric motors, super-conductors, critical electronic components such as resistors, capacitators and so forth depend on various rare earth elements and China is leveraging its preeminent position as a producer of rare earths to become a major manufacturer of all of these advanced green economy technologies.
• China is targeting more of its stimulus money to green economy initiatives than the US. It is directing 34% of its stimulus spending to green economy initiatives versus less than 20% for US stimulus spending.
• China has surged ahead of the US in solar PV manufacturing capacity and now has more than five times the installed production capacity.
• China has more than tripled its target for wind power capacity to 100 gigawatts by 2020, likely making it the world's fastest growing market for wind energy technology. It is aiming for an annual growth rate of 20% per year.
• China currently has 12 gigawatts of installed wind power, but that is set to grow to 20 gigawatts by next year. To put this in perspective this is around three times the projected increase in capacity (7GW) in the US for wind energy.
• Last year, China invested $35 billion in Smart Grid construction far out pacing US investment in upgrading its own aging and over taxed grid.
• China already is the biggest solar thermal market worldwide. Three out of four collectors are produced and installed there and its domestic market has grown at an average rate of 28% per year in recent years. To give an idea of the size of its domestic market the newly installed capacity in 2008 for solar heating systems was approximately 21 GWth; that is around 16 times greater than the European market as a whole and 130 times than new added solar heating capacity in the US.
• Premiere Hu has pledged before a world audience to rapidly reduce the Carbon intensity of China's economy and its total greenhouse gas emissions. While many did criticize the speech for its lack of specific numbers it is a very public commitment and China's rapid adoption of green technology and enforcement of strict efficiency standards backs it up.
• China already has strict fuel efficiency standards in place right now (in effect since 2008) They are: 43 mpg for cars and 21 mpg for heaver trucks. Compare that to the snail pace fuel efficiency track the US is on.
• China has abundant capital reserves to finance a transformation of its economy away from dependence on fossil energy.
Will the US be Left Behind as a Dirty Coal Country Unable to Compete in the Future Economy? Read full at greeneconomypost