Even Saudis went solar. Has U.S. lost out?

WHILE THE Trump administration has effectively declared war on wind and solar energy—blocking all permitting of projects on federal lands and pushing through a rollback of federal subsidies and tax credits—other nations are embracing renewable energy as a strategy for building economic and political strength.

- ALEX WANG GUEST CONTRIBUTOR

TIBETAN sheep graze through a vast solar farm in China's Qinghai province. The nation has invested in clean tech for two decades.

(NG HAN GUAN Associated Press)

China remains the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases; however, it has also become the global leader in the manufacturing and deployment of renewable energy, electric vehicles and batteries, achieved through sustained industrial policy support that began a mere two decades ago.

The motivations were not primarily environmental. Chinese leaders saw these technologies as strategic industries of the future, and believed the country that dominated these technologies would gain economic and political advantage in the long run. Thus, clean technologies were included within China’s 2010 “Strategic Emerging Industries” policy and its “Made in China 2025” strategy.