Richard Bärnthaler

China's Green Leap Outward — Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab A new China Low Carbon Technology FDI Database

And here is the report: www.netzeropolicylab.com/china-green-...

→ What are green tech & renewables ultimately for? E.g. decarbonising essential services or powering AI data centres? Sustainability needs both renewables & lower energy use in the Global North. If socially less-necessary demand keeps rising, what are the implications for living well within limits?

→ One point that was only briefly mentioned is how “critical” critical materials really are? They serve various purposes, from the green transition to militarisation. We need to interrogate and question “criticality”. This leads to a broader question that deserves more attention: 6/7

→ Relatedly, the social, ecological, and justice-related outcomes of BRI 2.0 will largely hinge on the strategies and policies of host countries, as well as the strength of civil society in holding investors and governments accountable. 5/7

→ The shift from the BRI to BRI 2.0 is significant. While it involves greater private sector participation, its direction—and whether it serves public goals—will depend on host countries’ policy choices, industrial strategies, and the conditions and discipline they apply to incoming capital. 4/7

→ There are three primary drivers behind these investments: Access to host country markets, access to third-country markets (especially where trade agreements are in place), access to raw materials. 3/7

→ The scale of Chinese investment is enormous. It is comparable to the Marshall Plan, which effectively locked Europe into U.S. technology pathways. 2/7

YouTube video by Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab China’s Green Leap Outward: The rapid scale- up of Chinese clean-tech manufacturing FDI

Worth watching the Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab’s (@bentleyallan.bsky.social) presentation of “China’s Green Leap Outward” by @70sbachchan.bsky.social, @mathiaslarsen.bsky.social & Xiaokang Xue

youtu.be/Pc2eu6YT2O0?...

Some key takeaways, and a broader question that deserves more attention: 1/7

Ein norwegischer Fjord im Zentrum europäischer Rohstoffpolitik Nachdem die EU im Juni eine norwegische Kupfermine als »strategisch« wichtig deklariert hat, spitzt sich die Lage für die indigenen Sámi drastisch zu.

Nachdem die EU im Juni eine norwegische Kupfermine als »strategisch« wichtig deklariert hat, spitzt sich die Lage für die indigenen Sámi drastisch zu.

Israel attacks the Global Sumud Flotilla, continues to starve Palestinians in Gaza.

Escalate peaceful disruptive action now.

#DisruptComplicity now!

Öffentlicher Luxus für alle: Mamdani zeigt, wie es geht Zohran Mamdani will die Daseinsvorsorge in New York neu aufstellen. Die Idee von »Öffentlichem Luxus« könnte auch die Politik in Deutschland inspirieren.

Zohran Mamdani will die Daseinsvorsorge in New York neu aufstellen. Die Idee von »Öffentlichem Luxus« könnte auch die Politik in Deutschland inspirieren, schreiben @rbaernthaler.bsky.social und Lukas Warning.

The genocidal state of Israel is intercepting the Global Sumud flotilla - shame on Spain and Italy who abandoned these brave people but grandstand at the UN. Shame!

UBS macht Wandel attraktiv – & klar: Er ist nicht konfliktfrei, kein Konsensprojekt. UBS als öffentlicher Luxus fordert Umverteilung von Macht & Ressourcen. Es eine Kampfansage: Gegen die Privatisierung des Lebens, gegen künstliche Knappheit, gegen die Logik des Profits in der Grundversorgung. 6/6

→ Systemischer Wandel statt Symptombehandlung: UBS stellt die Frage nach Bereitstellungssystemen: Wer kontrolliert die Infrastruktur? Wer entscheidet, was produziert wird – und für wen? Es geht um Demokratisierung, Vergesellschaftung & kollektive Planung. 5/6

→ Ökologische Wirksamkeit & geopolitische Souveränität: Kollektiver Konsum über gemeinsame Infrastrukturen bedeutet höhere Bedürfnisbefriedigung bei geringerem Ressourcenverbrauch. UBS stärkt Versorgungssicherheit und reduziert Abhängigkeiten. 4/6

→ Effektivere Umverteilung: UBS wirkt auch auf der Ausgabenseite. Haushalte mit geringem Einkommen geben anteilig mehr für Grundbedürfnisse aus. Kollektive Bereitstellung entlastet sie strukturell – UBS ist gerechter. 3/6

Warum Universal Basic Services (= kollektive Bereitstellung grundlegender Güter und Dienstleistungen) statt Bedingungslosem Grundeinkommen? Drei Gründe ↓ 2/6

Öffentlicher Luxus für alle: Mamdani zeigt, wie es geht Zohran Mamdani will die Daseinsvorsorge in New York neu aufstellen. Die Idee von »Öffentlichem Luxus« könnte auch die Politik in Deutschland inspirieren.

„Öffentlicher Luxus für alle“ – Beitrag von Lukas Warning und mir im @surplusmagazin.bsky.social

Was Mamdani vorschlägt, steht für ein neues Verständnis von Daseinsvorsorge. Nicht nur Verteidigung, sondern Weiterentwicklung öffentlicher Infrastruktur. 1/6

www.surplusmagazin.de/offentlicher...

Israel’s ecocide in Gaza sends this message: even if we stopped dropping bombs, you couldn’t live here | George Monbiot Consider the annihilation of agricultural land alongside the genocide – and grasp the chilling totality of this attempt to eliminate all life, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot

When you consider the *ecocide* alongside the genocide being perpetrated in Gaza, you begin to grasp the totality of the Israeli state’s attempt to eliminate both the Palestinians and their homeland.
My column today.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Spain has implemented an arms embargo against Israel, showing how it’s done. Every other state that does not follow suit, and which continues to supply arms to the Zionists, must be understood as not only complicit but a partner in the genocide.

How Israel is dismantling the dream of a Palestinian state While attention has been focused on Gaza, Israel has undermined the delicate architecture of governance in the West Bank built up over three decades

Israel’s colonial planners are dismantling Palestinian political economy through incursions into formerly autonomous areas & targeted economic measures (labour bans, tax revenue restrictions, banking constraints), shrinking the economy by 1/3 & accelerating institutional collapse

on.ft.com/3IyhbrF

Fossil fuels are ending They would end faster if we stopped being complete suckers

See also this excellent piece by @jamesgdyke.info: www.technosphere.earth/fossil-fuels...

What about energy security when phasing out fossil fuels?
A recent IEA report suggests “reducing demand” in high-income countries: tinyurl.com/4xtf74ap

How? Shifting to collective, non-profit provisioning can cut energy use & improve wellbeing – crucial for strategic autonomy & energy security ⬇️

Chartbook 409 Beyond the "Marshall Plan": China's solar boom as world-changing industrial policy. In the first six months of 2025 China installed more than 250GW of solar power capacity.

"China is the only large country driving the energy transition at anything close to the necessary speed and scale."

It's also the only one whose energy transition is not hamstrung by reliance on the motive force of renewables profitability.

Coincidence?

I think not.

Who Should Phase Out Fossil Fuels First? A Geopolitical Approach to Determining the Sequencing of Fossil Fuel Phaseouts Fossil fuel production must be phased out globally to decarbonise human society. Yet some countries should phase out sooner than others. Determining the order in which countries should phase out pr...

📝New publication!

Fossil fuel phaseouts must incorporate:

1. 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 incl. 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝘁

2. 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 and 𝘂𝗻𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲

3. 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀

Read and share: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

China Green Leap Outward — Net Zero Industrial Policy Lab A new China Low Carbon Technology FDI Database

1/ New report from @bentleyallan.bsky.social's Net Zero Policy Lab: As the US withdraws from green tech industries and pressures allies to follow suit, China is stepping in to power the developing world's energy transition. The scale is staggering.

www.netzeropolicylab.com/china-green-...

The idea of a “housing shortage” is misleading. And building more homes won’t help if investors keep buying. You solve the housing crisis when investors quit the market. Two good pieces in the FT:

www.ft.com/content/d905...

www.ft.com/content/48bd...

Near future academic publishing – a speculative social science fiction experiment Published in Learning, Media and Technology (Vol. 49, No. 4, 2024)

In our last editorial we imagined how bad academic publishing might get, and hopefully how it might come out better www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Cover of new book Climate Obstruction: A Global Assessment from Oxford University Press. Shows cows, smokestacks, jets, oil refineries, cell phones and a man in a suit talking to an audience

So proud of this collaboration led by @cssn.org

110 top experts from around the world

13 chapters on who is blocking or slowing action on climate change

A quantum leap in our understanding of why society has failed to solve this

Will be free online Oct 14 1/x

global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Israel bombed and murdered the Prime Minister of Yemen along with several cabinet members, and there is zero outrage in Western media… it’s barely even a story. The level of impunity is breathtaking.