Overview

China has recently taken the lead in investment in clean power, spending $34.6 billion on alternative energy infrastructure in 2009.  This is up from just $2.5 billion five years ago, an much more than the $18.6 billion invested here in the United States last year.  Join members of the MIT Energy Club to learn more about China's goals and accomplishments in the renewable energy sector.

Please prepare for the discussion with the readings given below.  

A light dinner will be served.  

The event is cosponsored by the China-US-EU Forum on Climate Change, Energy and Environment.  

Key Questions

To what extent in China winning some kind of clean energy race?

How do infrastructural choices being made in China right now affect the nature of technology development globally? Who exactly is winning and losing? 

How does the image of a China winning some kind of clean energy race jibe with the image of China building one filthy, smog-belching coal fired power plant after another?  Where do the images come from, and how do we reconcile them in our heads?  Should we try to reconcile them?

Preparatory Readings

China is Leading the Race to to Make Renewable Energy (NY Times, 30 Jan 10)

Who's Winning the Clean Energy Race? Growth, Competition and Opportunity in the World's Largest Economies (Pew Environment Group Report, 2010)

Energy Discussions: Renewables in China

06:00-07:00PM Thursday, April 22, 2010
Leader: Prof. Edward Steinfeld
Location: 26-204