Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore
There’s no denying who the king of technology in the 20th century was: America. But the 21st century poses new challenges that must be met by the rise of the green technology and green energy sectors across the globe. And whatever country is producing the best green tech solutions is in the pole position to spring to the top of the 21st century technological heap.
America’s election of Donald Trump virtually guarantees that country will be China.
To be fair, China was already ahead of the US on this front. It began investing big in green tech more than a decade ago, and it is now the world’s leading investor in green energy. Last year alone, China invested more than US$100 billion in green energy – that’s more than double what the US invested – and that number is expected to grow. Trump or no, there’s a good chance China would have won this race. But the US, the second-biggest global investor, was in a better position than any other single nation to challenge China on this front.
But Trump’s election makes it a near-certainty that China will win. The president-elect, who has called climate change “a total hoax” and who has threatened to pull out of the Paris climate deal, quite obviously doesn’t seen the green tech sector as a priority. He has called the development of green energy “a big mistake” and called for the US to drill more fossil fuels. He has suggested repealing subsidies for green energy companies and customers. It’s extremely unlikely that he’ll make any attempt to challenge China’s dominance in green tech, giving the Middle Kingdom a full four (or perhaps eight) years to pull even further ahead.
Third-party investors may still be interested in green tech, but under Trump there might not be as much VC money to go around. Especially early in his administration, investors are likely to be cautious and hold onto their money until they understand the regulatory risk and what the economy might look like under Trump. In the longer-term, economists aren’t big fans of Trump’s economic plans, and if they’re right, an American recession could dry up private VC capital sources, leaving green tech firms with no way of funding further development.
Trump has called windmills “industrial monstrosities” and called wind power “a very, very poor form of energy.” Photo credit: Pixabay.
Trump’s impact will go beyond just the reduction in investment, though. His trade proposals – like the levying of massive tariffs on goods from China – will make it virtually impossible for American green tech companies to compete globally. Every American hardware company relies on the global supply chain and imported Chinese components. Trump’s policies will make that far more expensive.
His anti-immigrant talk is also likely to hurt America’s tech sector, including green tech companies. One of the reasons that Silicon Valley was the dominant force behind technology in the 20th and early 21st centuries was that the US was an immigrant-friendly nation. There is foreign talent at the heart of virtually every successful firm in the Valley. And while it’s not clear precisely what sort of immigration policy Trump will set, his harsh rhetoric during the campaign is likely to keep foreign talent away. Meanwhile, China has been working to make itself more attractive and accessible to foreign workers.
In short: Donald Trump’s win is likely to be a disaster for the American green tech sector. That’s great news for China and its plan to be the dominant force behind green technology development in the 21st century.
This post Thanks to Donald Trump, China just won the global green technology sector appeared first on Tech in Asia.
from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/donald-trump-china-wins-green-tech
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