Here Comes the Sun: ESG and Dirty Solar Supply Chains
Kelley E. Currie
12.12.22
As ESG investment has increased, the supply chain for solar panels has become deeply entangled in the ongoing genocide against the Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslim peoples.
Here’s the bad news: the manufacturing of solar cells is an energy and labor-intensive process. That’s why 80% of the world’s solar panels are made in the coal-rich Xinjiang region of China, which is not only home to the world’s two biggest coal-fired power plants but also Ground Zero of the CCP’s genocide of the Uyghurs, who are used as slave labor.
The technological battleground of solar energy illustrates the consequences of the CCP’s “Power Doctrine.” China’s systematic deployment of IP theft, subsidies, non-market reciprocity, forced labor, low environmental standards, non-transparent accounting practices, bribery, as well as vast amounts of ESG capital has tilted the economies of scale in their favor, and ultimately decimated the American solar industry. History has taught us that energy security is national security. Wars are begun and lost because of energy. Unless drastic action is taken, we will find ourselves at China’s mercy for our energy needs, just as Germany is at Russia’s.
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The Era Of ‘Tech Diplomacy’ Is Here
Technology is the new frontier of international relations. The interaction is bi-directional: technology is defining diplomatic matters while diplomacy is also influencing the development and deployment of technology. Take semiconductors as an example. This is a technology that forms the foundation of digital economy, national security, and productivity in almost all industries. Global supply chain in the semiconductor industry is shaping U.S. foreign policy. Conversely, America’s diplomatic effort has been redefining the supply chain. Tech diplomacy is different from science diplomacy, which became a key pillar for the U.S. and other countries since World War II. Scientists participated in treaty negotiations, engaged in bilateral summits and served as attachés at embassies. Primary topics included nuclear proliferation, super-collider construction, human space exploration and environmental science.