New Energy Supply Chains: Is the UK at Risk from Chinese Dominance?
The Royal United Services Institute has just published a paper, coauthored with Michal Meidan and myself of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, that assesses the risks posed to the United Kingdom by China’s strong position along supply chains for minerals and materials for low-carbon energy.
The paper focuses on lithium-ion batteries, wind power and solar photovoltaics. It asks: can China use its dominance in net zero energy supply chains to penalise the UK because of its policy choices? The paper argues that it will be very difficult for China to target the UK directly, given the complexity of the relevant supply chains. Any export controls or embargoes that China imposed on the UK would impact many other consumer countries equally. Similarly, the UK would not be insulated from any bottlenecks or breakdowns in these supply chains, impacting its ability to meet its net zero targets.
The paper is available through this link:
