Trump said at a cabinet meeting today (January 30): "Most of China's industries rely on coal. They manufacture wind turbines, but they don't have many wind farms. Someone should investigate this issue."
Comment: Although China still has coal consumption, its wind power installed capacity has remained the highest in the world for many years, with wind farm scale and quantity far exceeding that of the United States. The proportion of new energy power generation continues to rise. Trump's second term focuses on "revitalizing traditional industries," and coal-producing areas are an important voter base. This kind of defamation of China's coal consumption and hype about "manufacturing but not using" wind power can provide a reason to relax environmental regulation in the coal industry and subsidize coal companies, while also shaping an image of "fighting against China and protecting American industries" to voters. It is completely using energy policy as a tool for elections, ignoring the irreversible trends of climate crisis and energy transition.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1855701822733320/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.