Clean Energy Politics Link Drop
Here are some good stories on clean tech politics from the last week or so (other than what we’ve covered).
U.S. and China / International
Fearing high gas prices, Sean Hannity proposes re-invading Iraq and Kuwait to “take all their oil”
Friday’s Hannity on Fox News featured a discussion by the Great American Panel about high gas prices, which host Sean Hannity claimed are “now gonna go up to three, four, five dollars a gallon again.” The panel ruefully noted that Arab sheiks possess great amounts of oil, and pointed out a recent statement by Kuwait’s oil minister that he believes the market can withstand $100-per-barrel oil. After noting that Kuwait is a country that “would not exist [but] for us,” Hannity angrily offered his remedy:…
Green technology at the heart of $45bn in US-China export deals
Chinese state visit coincides with flurry of multi-billion dollar clean tech deals…
The Climate Post: Hu Jintao’s visit prompts soul searching in U.S. energy and climate circles
The truly astonishing amount of material that came out after a recent visit by China’s President Hu Jintao is a measure of how pivotal energy and climate change are between the U.S. and China. This includes a piece on the importance of energy cooperation between the two nations by U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu himself.
Scientific American’s Dave Biello describes the relationship between the U.S. and China as the kind of detente that exists between “frenemies,” but one of the most comprehensive assessments of the current state of affairs was articulated by Daniel Firger of the Columbia Center for Climate Change Law. He says the year to come in China and U.S. energy news will revolve around three things:…
A blueprint for keeping America competitive
President Obama has asked me to chair his new President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. I have served for the past two years on the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, and I look forward to leading the next phase of this effort as we transition from recovery to long-term growth. The president and I are committed to a candid and full dialogue among business, labor and government to help ensure that the United States has the most competitive and innovative economy in the world….
China’s solar companies are more powerful than Europe’s and the U.S.’
Germany has been a powerful adopter of solar energy in Europe and exports modules around the world. It added 8,000 megawatts of solar modules last year,the equivalent of eight nuclear reactors, surpassing Italy, Japan and the U.S., according to Reuters.
However, China’s solar companies have been benefiting from Europe’s and the United States’ energy companies because the number of subsidies handed out by the PRC gives them a leg up against other countries’ manufacturers. The U.S. and Europe’s subsidies increase the use of solar energy, regardless of who makes the hardware whereas Chinese subsidies solely help solar manufactures, reported the news source….
A National Commitment to Win the Clean Energy Race
With the arrival of Chinese President Hu this week in Washington, there can be no better time for the U.S. to make clear its unqualified commitment to winning the global race for clean energy jobs.
This is not just an international issue; it’s an urgent domestic one. While the employment situation shows some glimmer of hope, there are still more than 14 million people unemployed and many more so discouraged they’ve left the job market. And the progress we have made on clean energy is at risk. Evergreen Solar, a Massachusetts company, recently announced it would lay off 800 workers and move production to China….
Not the U.S. or China, but the U.S., China and the Planet
One of the pleasures of my job is having a slew of superbly qualified prospective interns knock on our doors. Yesterday, I interviewed someone who graduated at the top of his class at Renmin University in Beijing.
There have been plenty of column inches written on “China versus the US,” including when it comes to green jobs and clean tech. So,
Who’s going to come out ahead, China or the United States?
It took him nary a second to nail this one:
China, relatively. Both China and the U.S. in an absolute sense.
That’s the textbook answer….
Get moving on energy reform, IEA says
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates, Jan. 20 (UPI) — World leaders need to look to unilateral energy initiatives because they can’t wait for a global climate deal, the IEA executive director said in Abu Dhabi.
Nobuo Tanaka, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, spoke during the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi. He blamed a “lack of ambition” in the effort to find a comprehensive clean-energy plan for exacerbating the threat posed by climate change….
U.S. Legislation
Republican Study Committee proposes unilateral disarmament to China in innovation, clean energy
On Thursday, the Republican Study Committee unveiled its Spending Reduction Act, a broad swath of recommendations aimed at cutting trillions of dollars out of the budget. The committee, which includes the vast majority of Republican House members (175 out of 242), claims these cuts are necessary so government does not “rob our children of the opportunity to reach for the American Dream.”…
Buzz Builds for ‘Clean Energy’ Standard, but Passage Won’t Be Easy
Legislation advancing clean energy at first glance seems like a palatable option for a divided Congress, a kind of combination plate enticing lawmakers with varied morsels.
Key lawmakers from both parties praise the idea and lobbying efforts are starting. But the clean energy proposals now gaining buzz could be too ambitious for this Congress to stomach….
Photo Credit: London Summit
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