A San Diego researcher, in a peer reviewed paper that examined U.S.-China collaborations on climate-friendly technology, found that concerns over trade policies and national security between the two countries could sever vital green tech partnerships.
“We’re definitely very worried that the increasing geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China is going to make it more difficult to cooperate,” said Michael Davidson, an assistant professor at UC San Diego.
Davidson, and his co-authors, examined five crucial areas in the fight to reduce or eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.
They include managing mature green technology like solar power, electricity generation from wind, and power storage using batteries.
In addition, Davidson studied emerging technologies that researchers believe will play a vital role in the future to reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere.
“Carbon capture and sequestration, involves capturing the carbon before it’s emitted into the atmosphere and then sequestering it underground so it cannot contribute to climate change,” Davidson said.
The team also looked at the development of green steel. It is the technique used to make steel using low carbon or zero carbon technologies, which could mean making steel using hydrogen tech or relying on electricity, instead of fossil fuels.
The paper, published in the current edition of the journal Science, looked at the economic and national security implications for each of those critical climate-friendly technologies.
Davidson noted that U.S. and China collaborations have already succeeded in lowering the cost of green technology and perfecting the processes that allow it to be deployed at scale.
He said that should not be interrupted because of political friction or trade practices, like tariffs or import restrictions, that are punitive.
The study found diversification was a better policy choice than cutting off the sale of a green tech product like photovoltaic panels just because the manufacturing is based in China.
Davidson said short-sighted policies could hamper innovation and that is why low-carbon technologies should be worked on together and protected from political interference.
“So that we can manage those while not necessarily putting up barriers that prevent us from achieving our broader goals,” Davidson said.
