Much of China’s push toward developing renewable energy can be seen as a response to rising social unrest over dangerous levels of pollution. With rampant industrialization came rampant environmental degradation, including cities clogged with sooty air. But that is not the only motivation. China also sees an opportunity to develop and deploy renewable energy technologies that, presumably, many nations will want in the near future for carbon mitigation. That is partly why Bill Gates’s nuclear reactor company, TerraPower, partnered with China. The interest, investment and timeliness simply did not exist at home.
Green Motivation
Much of China’s push toward developing renewable energy can be seen as a response to rising social unrest over dangerous levels of pollution. With rampant industrialization came rampant environmental degradation, including cities clogged with sooty air. But that is not the only motivation. China also sees an opportunity to develop and deploy renewable energy technologies that, presumably, many nations will want in the near future for carbon mitigation. That is partly why Bill Gates’s nuclear reactor company, TerraPower, partnered with China. The interest, investment and timeliness simply did not exist at home.