Britain’s rush to net zero fuelled China’s energy dominance

The lesson here is that once an industrial ecosystem has been lost to China it is extremely difficult to rebuild, argues Sander Tordoir, the chief economist at the Centre for European Reform.

“European governments have to think very carefully about ecosystem effects,” he adds.

...China has been able to build “massive industrial capabilities in the lower rungs of clean tech”, he says, before moving into the “higher rungs of the value chain”.

This has also been the case in EVs, he adds, where China started off producing low-value car parts and batteries – and now dominates the sector.

...Across green industries, Tordoir says, time is running out to protect domestic industries. He is in favour of policies such as the “Made in Europe” framework, which will funnel subsidies towards European carmakers, while requiring 70pc or more of components to be sourced on the Continent.