by Greg Walcher, E&E Legal Senior Policy Fellow
The Daily Sentinel
Green is an important color in Chinese culture. Jade symbolizes harmony with nature; the dragon represents transformation. Green tea symbolizes health; green bamboo implies resilience. And now, China wants to be known for its leadership of the global transition to green energy. But the transition does not include China — that image is fake, no more real than a dragon carved from jade.
Since the last UN climate conference (COP-30) in Brazil, climate activists around the world have praised China for its “commitment” to the effort — a commitment nobody had recognized in the previous three decades of UN gatherings. The Brazilian diplomat who chaired the meeting spoke of China’s “extraordinary progress,” which he called a shining example in the fight against climate change, while trashing other wealthy countries for shirking their responsibilities. Others highlighted China’s “constructive role as a steward of global climate change.” The Guardian gushed that “China has a long history of underpromising and overdelivering.” That bizarre report claimed that renewable energy accounts for more than half of China’s generating capacity and a third of its energy consumption, neither of which are true. But it concluded with a true statement: China’s exports of solar and wind components have sparked a growth in renewables around the world.
That was the plan all along. Several writers are now calling it the Great Chinese Wind Scam, because it was never intended to transform China’s economy, nor even necessarily do anything about global warming. Its intent was to dominate the supply chain and make the rest of the world’s commitment to renewables dependent upon supplies and minerals from China.
The Western World, especially the United States, were sold on the idea that wind energy would reduce emissions and slow climate change, while also rebuilding American manufacturing, creating millions of new green jobs, and even strengthening national security. President Biden’s chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff called global warming the greatest threat to national security, making wind power essential to American survival.
