Posted by Dave Klecha - Greenedia Editor on February 25, 2008 at 11:16:21 AM

North America, and the United States and Mexico particularly, have long been seen as laggards in the renewables game; Canada has done much better, though with a strong domestic oil industry and a small internal population, they have not felt quite the same pressures as other nations to switch off of a fossil fuel-based economy.  Still, Europe and Japan have long been well ahead of the US in terms of policy and technology adoption, and the US has often resisted being brought along until countries like China and India are held to the same standard.

The irony could well be that China and India are helping drive their growing economies with cleantech and a focus on energy efficient procedures.

For example, officials in China recognize that accelerating growth in urbanization--millions moving from rural areas to already packed cities--will require dramatic sustainability efforts to provide for the population.  A driver for Chinese efforts seem to be the upcoming Beijing Olympics this summer, with dramatic changes underway to clear up the smog in Beijing and the environs and pose a green face to the international community when it comes visiting in force.  But beyond that is economic necessity; the growth of the Chinese economy could drive dramatically higher prices in coal and oil, which could conceivably cripple economic growth.

The Chinese auto industry, then, has also become a target for change, and everyone from Toyota to GM to the native industry has been rushing to bring alternative fuels vehicles to the Chinese market.  In both respects, building and cars, the Chinese could easily drive up their competitiveness with the West by minimizing their reliance on foreign and unstable fuel sources.  In many ways, the Chinese seem to be shooting toward a "leapfrogging" effect, bypassing the messy, dirty, and expensive phases the Western economy has gone through and skipping straight to clean and cheap.
Which is not to say that the US and Western countries are not making efforts.  Green building is certainly gaining traction in the US, and it's likely that with a new President sworn in next January, national policy may face a dramatic shift toward the clean.  But it seems clear that other nations, surprising players, are outpacing the US and significant parts of the West in developing and executing plans to go clean and green.