US-China rivalry and its impact on the energy transformation: difficult cooperation fraught with dilemmas
Jacopo Maria Pepe, Julian Grinschgl, Kirsten Westphal
Abstract
Climate change seems one of the few fields where China and the United States are set to cooperate even in times of growing systemic rivalry. However, the energy transition underpinning the fight against climate change can hardly be insulated from this this systemic rivalry: competition over trade and technologies, transport routes, raw materials supply chains and industrial value chains, finance, and security remain an essential part of the strategic equation determining its outcome. Against this backdrop, the chapter sheds light on the reciprocal interaction between energy transition and geopolitical rivalry and on the complexities and dilemmas associated with the energy transition and cooperation on climate amidst this competition. The chapter concludes that climate clubs featuring both nations could be an effective arrangement on how to tackle emissions and foster the energy transition, but still wouldn’t address all the geopolitical issues at the core of US-China rivalry.