The Great Energy Split: Solar Silk vs. Shale Swagger
While the U.S. is drilling harder than ever, China is exporting the future, one battery, solar panel, and nuclear reactor at a time.
The world’s energy future is no longer just a climate story, it’s a contest of power, profit, and policy. On one side: China, investing trillions into solar, EVs, wind, and nuclear. On the other: the U.S., doubling down on fossil fuels, leveraging natural gas exports, and offering allies pipelines over photovoltaics.
The contrast couldn’t be starker. China now installs more clean energy capacity than the rest of the world combined and controls the critical minerals, patents, and factories that make it possible. The U.S., meanwhile, is sidelining renewables under the Trump administration’s energy-dominance doctrine.
This divergence isn’t just ideological, it’s strategic. China is using green tech to deepen geopolitical ties across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The U.S. is flexing muscle with arms sales and fossil fuel deals, even as climate disruption worsens.
- China has over 700,000 clean energy patents
- U.S. fossil fuel exports surged under Trump 2.0
- China’s “cluster manufacturing” slashes production costs
From my lens, this isn’t about who wins the tech war, it’s about who owns the next global operating system. Should nations bet on fast, cheap, clean energy or defend legacy systems built on scarcity? And, if global energy is shifting from scarcity to abundance, are we investing in the infrastructure of tomorrow, or clinging to the geopolitics of the past?
Read the full article on NY Times.
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Dr Mark van Rijmenam
Dr. Mark van Rijmenam, widely known as The Digital Speaker, isn’t just a #1-ranked global futurist; he’s an Architect of Tomorrow who fuses visionary ideas with real-world ROI. As a global keynote speaker, Global Speaking Fellow, recognized Global Guru Futurist, and 5-time author, he ignites Fortune 500 leaders and governments worldwide to harness emerging tech for tangible growth.
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