China invests $546 billion in clean energy, far surpassing the U.S.
China once again 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.
That is nearly four times the amount of U.S. investments, which totaled $141 billion. The European Union was second to China with $180 billion in clean energy investments.
China also dominated in low-carbon manufacturing, accounting for more than 90 percent of the $79 billion invested in that sector last year, according to the report.
The findings come as the U.S. and Europe work to expand domestic manufacturing capacity. The United States has begun in recent months 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. [Continue reading…]