The Daily Planet #21: Sahay and Mackenzie on China's Renewables

Tim Sahay and Kate Mackenzie write an amazing newsletter on the Polycrisis. In today's Daily Planet, they are on a podcast with Paris Marx where they talk about the geopolitical competition between the US and China.

China’s aggressive push into renewable energy is reshaping global geopolitics in profound ways, as explained by Kate Mackenzie and Tim Sahay. China is strategically electrifying its economy to reduce dependence on oil and gas imports, resources it lacks domestically. This shift is not primarily driven by climate concerns but by a developmental strategy aimed at economic sovereignty and global leadership in emerging technologies such as electric vehicles, batteries, and solar energy.

China now hosts 70-80% of the world’s clean energy factories, a dramatic reversal from two decades ago when the U.S., Europe, and Japan dominated this sector. This dominance is supported by a coordinated state-led approach involving massive investments in R&D, competitive internal markets, and long-term planning.

Moreover, China’s renewable energy leadership offers other countries, especially in the Global South, a pathway to reduce dependence on the U.S. and fossil fuels, potentially shifting global power dynamics. Meanwhile, the U.S. faces difficulties in competing due to inconsistent policies and continued reliance on fossil fuels, highlighting a stark divergence in energy futures between the two superpowers.