This blog is part of a summer blog series written by the McCain Institute’s Summer Junior Fellows. Stella Streeter is a junior fellow for the Global Democracy Program.
The increase in the prevalence of clean energy across the world means that production needs to keep up with this new global demand. In this competition, the two main players are the United States and China. This competition continues the fight for global dominance, especially in competitive technology sectors.
China had been leading the race for clean energy technologies, outcompeting the U.S. Many noticed this lagging innovation on American soil and worked to bolster tech and science sectors ruled by China’s newfound prevalence. During the past few years, strong efforts ensured that the U.S. remained competitive in clean energy technology, subsidizing the industry. This reinvigorated American competition in the clean energy sphere, directly working against Chinese investment.
Together with newfound support for climate action, investments in clean energy technology soared, making American industries competitive against the advancements of China. During the next couple of years, the U.S. leveled the playing field against China, with a majority of investment across the country going into pro-climate and clean energy technology. This changing trend marked a win for both domestic economic investment and pro-climate advocacy.
After a few years of clean energy at the focus of growth and investment, this outlook on American energy shifted with another election cycle. Within the past few months, it seems that the American stake in the clean energy race has cooled. Many believe that there is a failure to see the value in expanding domestic clean energy, instead opting to ramp up further oil and gas production. Some even say that China has already beaten the U.S. in the race to dominate the clean energy field.
With this broader shift away from the clean energy initiatives, many followed through on their commitment to fossil fuels. By working to end the previous investments in pro-climate energy sources, this change can be seen as the U.S. quitting the competition for clean energy, allowing China to dominate the global sphere in these technologies.
The changing focus of the U.S. in recent months is clear: increase drilling for fossil fuels while clean energy takes a back seat. On the global scale, this increases reliance on clean energy technology from a non-democratic China, as the U.S. continues to distance itself from advancements in clean energy technology. As democratic societies, particularly the U.S., tout being world leaders in so many sectors, they are falling behind in clean energy. Clean energy is the future of the energy sector, and American innovation is sorely lacking behind China’s.