The Global Clean Tech Reset: China’s Rise, US Retrenchment, Europe’s Crossroads

C-MACC Weekly Sustainability and Energy Transition Report

The Global Clean Tech Reset: China’s Rise, US Retrenchment, Europe’s Crossroads

• 1st Topic of the Week: China’s unrivaled scale in renewable power and green industrial capacity positions it to define the future of clean energy, posing a strategic challenge to the West as policy turbulence casts doubt.
• 2nd Topic of the Week: The US clean energy transition now hinges on a razor’s edge, as policy whiplash threatens to derail over US$110bn in industrial investment and cleantech momentum across red and blue states alike.
• Otherwise – Beyond headline policy shifts, this report dives into underexamined sectors like recycled plastics, carbon pricing diplomacy, and the evolving trade dynamics reshaping global biofuels and ESG markets.

Exhibit 1: China’s Clean Power Growth Accelerates as IEA Forecasts for the West Face Rising Downside Risk.

Source: IEA, C-MACC Analysis, May 2025