China secures first-mover advantage in the market for renewable energy

China wants to become a world leader in renewable energy technologies and is already staking its claim, writes Conal Walsh

THE COMMERCIAL potential of green energy may partly explain the gradual softening of China's stance on carbon emissions. Having once resisted Western calls to cut greenhouse-gas emissions, the country has placed renewable energy at the heart of its industrial policy, with the aim of selling its expertise to the rest of the world. Aware of the economic opportunities global climate-change consensus could bring, China has quietly used a combination of subsidies, protective tariffs and direct funding to overtake the competition in several renewable technologies. It is the clear leader in hydro-electric power; with an installed capacity of over 18 gigawatts, the Three Gorges Dam will be the larg