EU climate chief warns China dependence will make EU’s green transition more costly
EU Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra has warned that Europe's heavy reliance on China for clean-energy technologies poses a significant strategic and economic risk. He argues that the EU must act now to diversify its supply chains, even if it incurs higher short-term costs.
Why it matters
This reflects the growing geopolitical tension between the EU and China regarding energy security and the transition to green technology.
Europe must accept higher short-term costs to reduce its dependence on China for clean-energy technologies, EU Climate Action Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra has told Euronews, warning that delaying action will make the strategic vulnerability harder and more expensive to unwind.The EU should have confronted its reliance on China “five to ten years ago”, Hoekstra said, arguing that waiting longer would bring greater disruption and costs.“But it will be much cheaper and much more to our advantage to do it now than be wishy washy and wait another five to 10 years,” the Dutch Commissioner said.Europe needs to rapidly deploy solar, wind, batteries and other clean technologies to reach climate neutrality by 2050.
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