China is already the 21st century leader in Photovoltaics , Electric Vehicles and Sustainability !
Not only China is the World's Factory , it's the leader in everything connected to Renewable Energy and Electric Vehicles ecology . And the top technology leaders from even outside China, in these sectors like Tesla and Volkswagen, are investing and building their technologies in China, supported by the maturing EV manufacturing supply-chain ecology and the subsidies by the Chinese State.
Disruptive Innovation needs a nurturing governance and regulation system which China seems to be providing in these sectors .
"With an investment of over $ 7 billion, the Gigabit 3 factory was the largest foreign-invested manufacturing unit till date in the history of Shanghai. With a capacity for 500,000 cars, the factory will be producing the Model 3 sedan and the Model Y SUV for global markets.
The affection for Musk is so great that while he met with Premier Li Keqiang, he was offered a Chinese green card. “I love China and want to come here more often,” Musk said, to which Premier responded, “If you do, we can issue you a Chinese green card.” "
https://analyticsindiamag.com/tesla-elon-musk-china-gigafactory-boring/
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/06/chinas-lead-in-the-global-solar-race-at-a-glance/
Though even at the Number 1 scale in solar , EV , batteries , the percentage of renewable energy and EV vs coal and IC (Internal Combustion) vehicles is low , but the scale gives China the technology and pricing leadership no one can match .
China is clearly the 21st century leader in the transition to a Sustainable Economy Innovation Society.
And as with developing its own Covid 19 vaccine it needs nothing much from the West now , it's a matter of time it will be making its high end chips and electronic components . Trump wanted to slow the transition of China to global dominance but he is out of the picture now !
On 12th December , 2020 , Xi said :
"China welcomes all countries' support for the Paris Agreement and their greater contribution to tackling climate change," Xi added.
Second, Xi called for raising ambition and fostering a new architecture of climate governance where every party does its part.
Xi said China will lower its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by over 65 percent from the 2005 level, increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 25 percent, increase the forest stock volume by 6 billion cubic meters from the 2005 level, and bring its total installed capacity of wind and solar power to over 1.2 billion kilowatts.
Noting China always honors its commitments, Xi said China, guided by the new development philosophy, will promote greener economic and social development in all respects while pursuing high-quality development.
https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202012/13/WS5fd54d65a31024ad0ba9b784.html
And China as a deeply centralized state can achieve all its environmental promises , it's the democracies and failing states which cannot , as 4-5 year election cycles cannot have long term consensus .
Also the Geopolitical risks of fewer countries having the rare elements needed for EV and renewable technologies will keep traditional fuels from firewood to coal to oil relevant as they are much better distributed if not everywhere .
In terms of democracy of access, the old fuels are much more accessible.
The higher the technology less the democracy of ownership given the patent regimes and manufacturing capacity .
The Lithium Oligopoy :
According to the U.S. DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy, some 91% of all lithium comes from Australia (44%), Chile (34%), and Argentina (13%) - data for the year 2017.
The Lithium element itself is one of the most abundant globally, but the viability of extraction makes a few markets especially favorable. If anything happens, the world can switch to lithium from other countries after investing in new facilities, which gives us peace of mind about the future. In the future, recycling will also become an important source of lithium.
Cobalt, another key cathode material - at least in 2017 - was sourced at 59% from the Congo, although it could've changed by now as many companies were not happy about the environmental and humanitarian aspects of local mines.
Natural graphite comes to batteries at 67% from China. Some elements like nickel or manganese are more evenly distributed.
https://insideevs.com/news/372133/91-of-lithium-three-countries/
https://www.mining.com/lithium-bears-wrong/
Coal reserves are available in almost every country worldwide, with recoverable reserves in around 70 countries. The biggest reserves are in the USA, Russia, China, Australia and India.
https://www.worldcoal.org/coal/where-coal-found
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/map-countries-most-oil-reserves/
19th November , 2020.
President Xi Jinping made a major announcement in his address to the United Nations General Assembly in September of this year. He committed China to a target to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2060. This is a significant announcement, given that China is the largest emitter of carbon dioxide and one of the largest consumers of coal.
The economies of scale achieved by China has led to drastic fall in prices, for instance for photovoltaic cells and wind turbine systems. China is the largest producer of electric cars and buses. It also dominates lithium-ion battery supply chain and chemical refining. The following chart shows the share of China’s production in the global supply chains, across various levels of the supply chain, as of 2019.
As seen in the graph, China’s share in global supply of refining stands at 80% and for lithium-ion battery cells at 73%.
https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/net-zero-by-2060-what-it-means-for-china/
28th October , 2020.
Amid the Covid-19 crisis, China has emerged as a leader in terms of solar photovoltaic (PV) installations and the production of solar PV panels.
The country has the largest installed solar power capacity of more than 205GW, contributing more than 35% of the global installations.
https://www.power-technology.com/comment/china-solar-pv-installations/
October 23rd , 2020.
Tesla took advantage of the change to become the first foreign car maker to have a wholly owned factory in China and started to deliver cars made in its Shanghai plant this year. BMW, likewise, plans to raise its ownership of its JV with Brilliance to 75% in 2022, from the current 50%. Getting more control and profits probably means the company is also more willing to use China to manufacture vehicles for other regions. China slashed EV subsidies last year, but it has introduced a credit trading system to encourage car makers to make more EVs.
China’s head start in the EV market, with the help of generous subsidies and government procurement, has built a cluster of suppliers. China has been the world’s largest EV market for years, even though Europe may briefly take that perch this year with supportive policies. China has some of the largest makers of EV batteries. Tesla, for example, has used cobalt-free batteries made by Contemporary Amperex Technology to lower the costs of some of its cars made in Shanghai. Volkswagen spent $1.2 billion to buy a 26% stake in Chinese battery maker Guoxuan High-Tech this year. Major battery makers in nearby South Korea and Japan also have factories in the country.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-wants-to-be-the-worlds-ev-factory-it-may-succeed-11603453014
October 20th , 2020.
In 2011, China accounted for just over 5% of global EV sales. By the start of this year, even during a downturn, that share had jumped to over 50%, making China the single largest EV market.
China has over 400 registered EV companies. These include traditional domestic auto manufacturers such as Geely, Dongfeng, and Chery, and startups such as NIO and Xpeng. In between, there are those Chinese companies that have diversified recently into EV production — for instance, the property developer Evergrande Group, which unveiled its first EV models in August.
https://www.businessinsider.com/chinas-ev-market-rebounds-and-looks-to-the-future-2020-10
July 31st 2019.
Eight out of the world's top 10 solar panel makers are Chinese, according to IHS Markit. China is by far the world's biggest producer with a 71% market share. Second-ranked South Korea trails far behind, at 7%, according to Tokyo-based solar power consultancy RTS.
19th June 2019.
Estimates from market intelligence business Wood Mackenzie sees China’s photovoltaic panel installations hit a cumulative total of 370 GWdc by 2024 - more than double the US’s capacity at that point.
China already has more solar capacity than any other country in the world, and is home to several massive solar farms, including the world’s largest in the Tengger Desert. The country - the biggest clean energy investor in the world - is looking to dramatically increase the proportion of renewable energy in its power mix.
Solar is a small proportion of the country's overall energy mix, though. In 2016, coal was a clear leader in terms of installed capacity, according to IEA data. Coal held around 60% of the share, compared to around 5% for solar.
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/06/chinas-lead-in-the-global-solar-race-at-a-glance/