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US-China clean energy decoupling ‘nearly impossible’, risks global climate change fight, study says
- Study finds collaboration on low-carbon technologies has manageable risks, while decoupling will slow tech deployment needed for the energy transition
- In some areas, the level of integration is already so great that true decoupling would be ‘nearly impossible’ and create more costs rather than savings
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US decoupling from China on clean energy technologies could create more economic risks than benefits, while harming global efforts to mitigate climate change, according to a new study.
Cooperation on climate change had been one of the few bright spots in the relationship between China and the US in recent years, but even that has fallen victim to growing rivalry between the two powers.
In August, Beijing suspended dialogue on climate-change issues with Washington as a part of the response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
The United States and other Western nations, meanwhile, are rethinking their reliance on Chinese supply chains, including for renewable energy products, due to national security concerns.
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But a new study published in the journal Science has found collaboration on low-carbon technologies poses limited risks, while decoupling will slow deployment of technology needed to to transition away from fossil fuels.
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