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> A report by Sydney-based think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF) said China was installing renewables so rapidly it would meet its end-of-2030 target by the e
by roenxi 2y ago
> A report by Sydney-based think tank Climate Energy Finance (CEF) said China was installing renewables so rapidly it would meet its end-of-2030 target by the end of this month — or 6.5 years early.
> "They have clear targets and every part of their government is harnessed to deliver the plan," he said.
Do they? The fact that this is off-plan and happening very quickly makes me think that we've probably crossed a threshold and people are just building the things because they are cheap. I never understood why these conversations always seem to have the frame that the governments of the world have to be so deeply involved in constructing power plants. It is only really a factor in nuclear power because the west keeps regulating new plants out of the picture. Free markets love renewables, they have low capital costs and are very modular.
I'd love to see Australia take up China's strategy of building everything. Harmonising our nuclear policy to mimic China's appears superficially to be an extremely clever idea.
- Teever 2y agoThis is China we're talking about, how is the government not deeply involved?
- Panzer04 2y agoAustralia is building loads of renewables, largely as a free market at this point. politics and media love suggesting government involvement, but by and large the problem is solving itself at this point.
- ZoomerCretin 2y agoIt's easy to see the market producing a lot of cheap renewables now and think the government was never necessary, but without the government's early and heavy investments and mandates, we would have reached this point much further in the future. To give an example, in the late 80s/early 90s, California mandated that 10% of major automakers' car sales be zero or very low emissions. GM started leasing EVs in 1996, and Toyota start selling the first hybrid in 1998.