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silence7@slrpnk.net

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China is winning on renewables. Will it win on green steel, too? While the U.S. backtracks on green steel commitments, Chinese companies are starting to make iron with hydrogen. (www.canarymedia.com)

submitted 10 months ago by silence7@slrpnk.net to c/climate@slrpnk.net

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[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

China will lose for the same reason the United States is losing. Making decisions that benefit people generally, either short term or long term, is exactly what autocracies are terrible at.

Autocracies are not inherently terrible at anything in particular, except a stable system of governance across generations. Autocrats are perfectly capable of prioritising the people, and there are many cases in history of them doing so.

China's central leadership will burn their nation's children to fuel their expansionist ideology

That's honestly hard to judge. China hasn't entered an actual modern war, so it's hard to tell how ruthless their war leadership will be when they actually take losses. Especially considering Chinese culture and the 1-child policy, high casualties might provoke a domestic retaliation.

They're certainly expansionist, and their neighbours are being very wary of them with extremely good cause.

If their goal was ecological harmony, neither of those things would make sense.

They have more than one goal, like any other country. Ecological harmony may not be at the top of the priority list, but they're making significant progress on that front. Whether that's due to genuine concern for the environment or a desire to sell stuff to the rest of the world doesn't matter.

The 'China is winning' headline is effective clickbait for jingoistic nationalists

That doesn't make it any less true. It's pretty undeniable that China is catching up or pulling ahead on many fronts, and the US under Trump is determined to squander whatever remaining advantage they have.

[–] Five@slrpnk.net 2 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Autocrats are perfectly capable of prioritising the people, and there are many cases in history of them doing so.

There's a reason this is always the exception and not the rule. Let me introduce you to The Rules for Rulers by CGP Grey, based on the book The Dictator's Handbook.

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago (1 children)

While I'm sure it's probably a very interesting book, I'm not watching an entire video or reading a book just to figure out if you have a point to contribute in an ongoing discussion. Cite it or use it as a source sure, but not just throw random media titles around with no context.

[–] Five@slrpnk.net 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

I'm not asking you to read a book, but if you've never heard of CGP Grey before nor seen his short Rules for Rulers video, you're missing out.

[–] AwesomeLowlander@sh.itjust.works 3 points 10 months ago

I'm not a video guy. Honestly, the book synopsis sounds interesting and I'll probably put it on my reading list. Videos in general are a no no for me.