Good morning. I’ve got a lot to share today, but let’s start with a story my colleagues Somini Sengupta and Brad Plumer wrote about how China is equipping other countries to fight climate change. I know. Stories about policy can seem like spinach. This time, it’s spinach that tastes like steak.
Green machinesIn the United States, the Trump administration is reversing efforts to protect the climate. In Europe, nations grapple with how, and how quickly, to embrace a green future. At the same time, something remarkable is happening in other parts of the world. Countries with big and quickly growing economies are taking advantage of China’s emergence as a renewable-energy superpower. They are going green in a hurry. Somini and Brad wrote a striking paragraph about the change: Countries like Brazil, India and Vietnam are rapidly expanding solar and wind power. Poorer countries like Ethiopia and Nepal are leapfrogging over gasoline-burning cars to battery-powered ones. Nigeria, a petrostate, plans to build its first solar-panel manufacturing plant. Morocco is creating a battery hub to supply European automakers. Santiago, the capital of Chile, has electrified more than half of its bus fleet in recent years. China makes that possible, exporting solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and electric vehicles all over the developing world while investing billions in factories that make those things in the nations where they are sold. ‘A safer place’
It won’t solve the problem of climate change, the reporters say. Most countries continue to get most of their energy from fossil fuels. They mine coal, build coal plants and produce oil. China alone emits more greenhouse gases than the United States and the European Union combined. There’s still plenty of smoke in the air. But the falling price of China’s renewable tech has allowed developing countries to satisfy a larger percentage of their energy needs internally. It reduces their reliance on imported fuel and develops their economies. “Emerging economies are a very important part of the story,” an environmental advocacy researcher told The Times. “The reason we should be paying attention is that they have the most people in the world, they have the largest number of poor people in the world, and their energy demands are growing. If these economies don’t change, there’s no chance for the world to get to a safer place.” A role reversalSomini and Brad tell us what that looks like in practice. Ethiopia has banned the importing of new gasoline-powered cars, they write. Nepal has lowered import taxes for electric vehicles so they’re cheaper than gas ones. Brazil raised tariffs on imported cars to help persuade Chinese automakers to build plants there. And China is investing heavily — nearly a quarter trillion dollars since 2011, they report, with most of that money going to what’s known as the global south. Adjusted for inflation, that is more money than the U.S. put into the Marshall Plan after World War II. A decade ago, the U.S. and Europe were pressuring developing nations to take faster action on climate change. Now the economics have changed, and developing nations are delivering what appears to be good news for the planet. India, for example, recently announced that half of its demand for electricity can now be satisfied by renewable energy from wind, sun and water, five years earlier than the 2030 target it had set in the Paris Agreement. It’s a vibe shift, Somini wrote in the article’s comments section. Read more (and comment yourself) here. More on China’s influence
It was the pay that initially drew Nicole Caputo, 29, to a life at sea. Commercial mariners can earn more than $100,000 and get as many as six months of paid leave a year. “It was either this or art school,” she said. Not many Americans work as merchant mariners. In part that’s because only a small percentage of international commercial shipping occurs on vessels registered in the U.S. Most vessels and crews are from elsewhere. Also, the work is hard, and it means being away from families, friends and home for months at a time. There are just seven maritime academies in the United States, and they are sending fewer Americans with the right qualifications to work at sea. Cargo companies struggle to recruit candidates and offer signing bonuses and sweeteners. Now, President Trump and a bipartisan group of lawmakers want to revitalize the American shipbuilding industry and counter China’s rise as a commercial shipping power. To make that happen, the country would need a lot more people like Caputo. Related: Trump recently started imposing fees on Chinese commercial ships when they docked in American ports; China retaliated. Now, they’ve reached a truce. Let’s catch you up on the rest of the news.
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