From Made in China to Made in Mexico! | 17 March 2023

Hi everyone,

A lot of great news in the climate world this last month. Check out how China and Costa Rica have been successful at reforestation efforts. It’s truly inspiring and shows that it’s possible in other countries too. Furthermore, I listened to an interesting episode from the NY Times podcast about how Chinese companies are setting up manufacturing plants in Mexico to access the American market.

We got this. ??

Helena

How Made in China will become made in Mexico

?To put it simply, China feeds what the world buys. Since the US/China trade war and the supply chain disruptions during the pandemic, we are noticing a new trend in Chinese companies. China was the centre of globalisation - the only place in the world where you could make things so cheaply. Things are changing.?

Today Chinese companies are looking for alternatives to manufacturing in China - Mexico is starting to become a new hub. In fact, according to the New York Times podcast - More goods are now coming to Mexico than LA.

Chinese companies such as Manwah Holdings (a publicly listed chinese company valued at $30B famous for its exports of sofas) are setting up shop in Mexico in order to serve the American market. Manwah is building a $300M dollar factory in Mexico because they want to keep selling to the US.

How will this affect climate tech and immigration??

For immigration - Less people will come to the US if there are more decent paying jobs in Mexico.?

For climate tech - Due to both the Inflation Reduction Act as well as the US/China trade war, tech supply chains will be relocated to the US this includes climate technologies such as solar panel factories, EV factories and more.

Will China remain the dominant manufacturer?

Yes it will but supply chains will move. Before you had to have a factory in China to be considered by a retailer like Walmart while now if you rely ONLY on China factories, it's the end of the meeting with Walmart! (NY Times)

5 good climate news of the last month

Fascinating good news for the climate this month! You might fall off your chair so make sure you are steadily seated when reading, especially when you read about the successful reforestation programmes.

?? ?? Costa Rica was the first tropical country in the world to reverse deforestation. In fact, forest coverage in the country was at 40% of the country in 1981 and is now at 50% of its territory. (CNN)

Did you know:Costa Rica is a success story in terms of development. It is considered an upper middle-income country, which has shown a steady economic growth over the past 25 years (World Bank).?

?? ?? China: The world’s most successful reforestation program globally. In 1949, 8.6% of the country was covered by forest, 13% in 1980, 21% in 2012 and 23% in 2021. That’s an increase of almost 15% in 28 years!?

Did you know: China has improved its reforestation work in recent years, aided by international expertise and private funding. At the same time, hard figures are difficult to ascertain (Time).?

?? ?? An ad by the Lufthansa Group has been banned in the UK after it was found to mislead consumers over the airline’s carbon emissions reduction efforts. The ad in question was released last May with the tagline: “Connecting the World. Protecting its Future”(Bloomberg).

Did you know: European regulators are increasingly cracking down on corporate “greenwashing” - In fact, The EU is considering legislation to ensure promises and claims are backed up by evidence of action (Bloomberg.)

?? ?? The UK’s coal demand fell by another 15% in 2022 to just 6.2m tonnes. This is the lowest level since 1757, according to Carbon Brief analysis of historical data. (Carbon Brief).

Did you know: That year in the UK, George II was king, William Cavendish was prime minister and the industrial revolution had not yet begun!

?? ?? The European Union (EU) aims to produce 40 percent of its own clean technologies by 2030, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday.

The global market for net-zero technologies is set to triple by 2030. In other words: the race is on.?

Did you know: This also means that the investment in climate tech will grow exponentially to support these legislations.

One quote to keep you decarbonising hard ??

“The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.”

Paul Coelho

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