- China topped the world in clean energy investments last year, a trend that could challenge U.S. efforts to develop more homegrown manufacturing.
- China also dominated in low-carbon manufacturing, accounting for over 90 per cent of the $79 billion invested in that sector last year.
China topped the world in clean energy investments last year, a trend that could challenge U.S. efforts to develop more homegrown manufacturing. Nearly half of the world’s low-carbon spending took place in China, according to a recent analysis from market research firm BloombergNEF. The country spent $546 billion in 2022 on investments that included solar and wind energy, electric vehicles and batteries, nearly four times the amount of U.S. investments, totalling $141 billion.
According to the report, China also dominated in low-carbon manufacturing, accounting for more than 90 per cent of the $79 billion invested in that sector last year. The findings come as the U.S. and Europe work to expand domestic manufacturing capacity. In recent months, the United States has begun to roll out the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act, which is packed with $369 billion of incentives aimed at building up the U.S. clean energy industry.
“China has managed to nurture these integrated, efficient value chains for making things like solar panels, for making things like battery cells,” said Antoine Vagneur-Jones, head of trade and supply chains research at BloombergNEF. Also, BloombergNEF’s figures don’t account for the dozens of planned U.S. factories announced in recent months. But while Inflation Reduction Act incentives will start to make a dent in China’s share of manufacturing, Vagneur-Jones said it would happen gradually.