Tariffs on Chinese cleantech jeopardise the green transition

WITH historic heat waves sweeping across the United States and other parts of the Northern Hemisphere, June is expected to be the 13th consecutive month of record-breaking global temperatures. The primary cause, of course, is the enormous amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. Despite the existential threat posed by rising atmospheric concentrations of GHGs, emissions continue to increase at a faster pace than previously anticipated.

On one front, however, progress in the fight against climate change has exceeded expectations. Amid the global shift from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles (EVs) and the accelerated adoption of solar and wind power, demand for renewable energy is rapidly increasing in the US and the European Union (EU).

This increased demand has been fuelled by significant declines in the real prices of solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and EVs. In the US, this can be attributed in part to the clean-energy subsidies included in President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and, more significantly, to low-cost Chinese imports.