this post was submitted on 11 Apr 2024
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I am not sure how to feel about this.
On one hand, it seems awfully petty in one sense when our ecological fate rests on going green as fast as possible.
On the other, I absolutely appreciate the importance of not letting domestic production get completely swamped by foreign markets.
Europe can do that to a very large extent domestically. We had a similar situation before 2008, when Spain and Germany offered huge subsidies to private households to boost the installations of solar roof tops, for example. Practically all of that money went into the coffers of Chinese solar tech suppliers. Europe must not make this mistake again, not in the least as many of Chinese products are produced under much lower environmental and social standards imho.
One is an existential crisis, the other is simply economic protectionism.
I strongly believe in domestic production (itβs a matter of national security), but not when itβs actively harming everyone on the planet.
The alternative is to give subsidies to European production as well, as to counter Chinese subsidies. That makes both significantly cheaper and allows for mass investment. Also China can export to other markets as well. It does not matter, where green technology is deployed, just that it lowers emissions.