Beijing emits more carbon than any other city in the world, so when China announced that it will begin ramping up renewable energy spending, I was not surprised.
The actual amount it plans on spending, however, is shocking. China plans on investing 2.5 trillion Yen, or $365 billion, into renewable energy by the year 2020. This plan was implemented in 2016, and China has already doubled its solar energy production, which makes the country the No. 1 solar energy producer in the world.
This information was released as part of China’s 13th five-year energy plan for 2016-2020 period. At the end of the five-year period China hopes to add more than 110 gigawatts of capacity. To put this number in perspective, in 2015 the United States added more than 7 gigawatts of solar capacity. China aims to expand its solar capacity by an average of 22 gigawatts a year, or more than three times what the United States expanded its by in 2015.
While this comes as good news for the planet, this energy plan is not as impressive as it seems.
China has the largest population of any country, and because of this, solar only makes up one percent of the country’s total energy output, even though they rank as the largest solar energy producers in the world. After doubling their solar capacity in 2016, China still stands as the No. 1 carbon emitter. Because of this, China has a lot of catch-up work to do in terms of overall pollution.
Still, China’s efforts are commendable, and other countries, in particular, the U.S., should take note
Donald Trump’s remarks on wanting to save coal industry jobs are completely backwards when compared to China’s forward-looking energy plan, and while solar capacity is increasing in the U.S., there is no promise that this trend will continue.
Instead of trying to save an antiquated industry that destroys our environment, the U.S. should follow China in the quest to become leaders in renewable energy production. Not only is saving coal industry jobs misguided in terms of the environment, it is misguided in terms of helping the nation’s employment rate in general.
At the end of 2015, a report from the U.S. Department of Energy stated that the solar energy sector — just one of the multiple sectors in renewable energy — employed slightly fewer than 375,000 people compared to the roughly 187,000 employed in coal, gas and oil industry combined.
Imagine the employment rate growth if the U.S. launched an energy proposal even a fourth in size of China’s. Given that solar energy is only one of the many forms of renewable energy, the potential for U.S. employment numbers in renewable energy is skyrocketing.
I hope that in the coming months and years it becomes clear that renewables are the future for American energy, and coal, gas, and oil is the past. Investing in renewable energy will promote job, but most importantly it will save our planet.
I truly implore more countries, and the U.S. in particular, to follow China in focusing energy efforts on renewable sources.
