From a new Center for American Progress report, Out of the Running:

Joining Senators Bingaman and Demint, Donald Trump is the latest public figure to misunderstand the difference between weather and climate:

With the coldest winter ever recorded, with snow setting record levels up and down the coast, the Nobel committee should take the Nobel Prize back from Al Gore.”

“Gore wants us to clean up our factories… when China and other countries couldn’t care less… China, Japan and India are laughing at America’s stupidity.”

I understand the temptation for Mr. Trump to say whatever crazy bullshit pops into his head, since he is such a widely laughed at buffoon. But he should really do himself a favor and develop a cursory understanding of the subject matter before doing so, at least if he wants to maintain his last shred of dignity for a few more awkward years, that is.

Is clean energy deployment a race? Tom Friedman and others at The Times say yes, while Bradford Plumer and Christina Larson aren’t so sure.

Either way, China installed more wind capacity than the United States in 2009, and will likely have more capacity overall within a few years.

Here is what the last five years of installations looked like in the two countries:*

As recently as 2005, the United States installed nearly five times more wind capacity than China on an annual basis (2,431 MW vs. 498 MW). In 2009, China installed 31% more capacity than the United States did (13,000 MW vs. 9,922 MW).

*All data via the Global Wind Energy Council.

Following up on Wednesday’s news that the U.S. automobile fleet shrunk in 2009 for the first time in 100 years, this shouldn’t come as much of a surprise:

China has overtaken the US to become the biggest car market in the world as government policy initiatives spur demand.

China sold more than 13.5m vehicles last year, the official Xinhua news agency said today, compared with 10.4m cars and light trucks sold in the US, the lowest level in 27 years.

…

China was not expected to exceed the US market until 2020 but the speed with which the recession affected consumers in the States combined with incentives from the Beijing government to help buyers accelerate the trend.

Chris in Paris quips:

When you think back to the not-so-old film footage of mobs of people riding their bikes in China, it’s hard to imagine this. It’s also a bit funny to think how many in the west are now encouraging bike riding to ease traffic, combat climate change and get healthy.

Fossil fuels continue fueling China’s rapidly expanding economy:

Putin’s action started loading oil onto a 100,000-ton tanker at the far east port of Kozmino, east of Vladivostok, launching a much-anticipated new export route to Hong Kong that will help satisfy Asia’s growing need for energy.

The oil had already traveled far just to reach Kozmino, located near Russia’s borders with China and North Korea. Russia’s new East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) oil pipeline originates in Tayshet, to the northwest of Lake Baikal in Russia’s Irkutsk Oblast. From there, it heads east for nearly 3,000 kilometers before reaching Skovorodino (Amur Oblast) where the fuel is loaded onto a train for the 2,100-kilometer trip to Kozmino.

Russia’s Transneft oil-transport company spent some US$12 billion to build the new oil pipeline and will have to spend another $10 billion to complete the pipeline from Skovorodino to Kozmino. Transneft also spent some $2 billion building a new terminal at Kozmino.

The article later notes that this development will eventually allow Russia to export 30 tons of oil to China annually.

The New York Times reports:

Some of the greenest technologies of the age, from electric cars to efficient light bulbs to very large wind turbines, are made possible by an unusual group of elements called rare earths. The world’s dependence on these substances is rising fast.

Just one problem: These elements come almost entirely from China, from some of the most environmentally damaging mines in the country, in an industry dominated by criminal gangs.

This chart shows a) the extent to which production of these elements is dominated by China and b) the price volatility of the rarest of these elements:

We may need to do some rethinking of what we mean when we call an energy source or technology ’sustainable’ or ‘environmentally friendly.’

Teryn Norris & Devon Swezey:

You know the world is changing when the president’s first trip to Asia is defined by a new U.S. foreign policy dubbed “strategic reassurance” – convincing China that the United States has no intention of containing its growing power or endangering its foreign investments. As the New York Times put it, “When President Obama visits China for the first time on Sunday, he will, in many ways, be assuming the role of profligate spender coming to pay respects to his banker.”

You also know times are changing when China, the world’s greatest polluter, and other Asian nations are poised to dominate the burgeoning global clean-tech industry by out-investing the United States. That’s the conclusion of a large new report we co-authored called “Rising Tigers, Sleeping Giant,” released this week by the Breakthrough Institute and Information Technology & Innovation Foundation.

Here is the report:

Senator Chuck Grassley is a silly and irresponsible man:

“You mean it’s not the failure of the People’s Assembly in China or the Parliament of India to pass laws cutting down on CO2 (carbon dioxide), it’s only America’s fault, blame America first?” said Republican Charles Grassley.

“You know, you can’t have it both ways. Other countries can’t have it both ways,” he said in a regular conference call with media from his home state of Iowa, according to a transcript of the discussion.

Grassley also said he “would not be satisfied” with any climate change agreement that treats the United States differently than China or India.

“China’s putting more CO2 into the air, and I wouldn’t be satisfied if China’s not treated like the United States because what good does it do for the United States to clean up CO2? It’s not going to make an impact unless China and India (are) involved as well,” he said.

Consider this pie chart of historical greenhouse gas emissions from 1750-2005:

Grassley’s attempt to blame China for this is like the child who makes a huge mess in their room, then blames their younger sibling who just walked into the room. Another decent analogy would be Republicans who blame Obama for the budget deficit despite the obvious fact that he inherited it from Republican George W. Bush. This type of selective memory and faux outrage may be effective among Republican primary voters, but nobody who is actually paying attention is going to fall for it.

From the Department of Energy.

Beijing, China – Today, President Barack Obama and President Hu Jintao announced a far-reaching package of measures to strengthen cooperation between the United States and China on clean energy.   Please see the attached fact sheets for additional details on each of the U.S-China clean energy announcements.

1.  U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center. The two Presidents announced the establishment of the U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center.   The Center will facilitate joint research and development of clean energy technologies by teams of scientists and engineers from the United States and China, as well as serve as a clearinghouse to help researchers in each country.  The Center will be supported by public and private funding of at least $150 million over five years, split evenly between the two countries.  Initial research priorities will be building energy efficiency, clean coal including carbon capture and storage, and clean vehicles.  The Protocol formally establishing the Center was signed in Beijing by U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang, and Chinese National Energy Agency Acting Administrator Zhang Guobao.
U.S.-China Fact Sheet on Clean Energy Research Center

2.  U.S.-China Electric Vehicles Initiative. The two Presidents announced the launch of the U.S.-China Electric Vehicles Initiative.  Building on the first-ever US-China Electric Vehicle Forum in September 2009, the initiative will include joint standards development, demonstration projects in more than a dozen cities, technical roadmapping and public education projects.  The two leaders emphasized their countries’ strong shared interest in accelerating the deployment of electric vehicles in order to reduce oil dependence, cut greenhouse gas emissions and promote economic growth.
U.S.-China Fact Sheet on Electric Vehicles Initiative

3.  U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Action Plan. The two Presidents announced the launch of a new U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Action Plan.  Under the new plan, the two countries will work together to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, industrial facilities, and consumer appliances.  U.S. and Chinese officials will work together and with the private sector to develop energy efficient building codes and rating systems, benchmark industrial energy efficiency, train building inspectors and energy efficiency auditors for industrial facilities, harmonize test procedures and performance metrics for energy efficient consumer products, exchange best practices in energy efficient labeling systems, and convene  a new U.S.-China Energy Efficiency Forum to be held annually, rotating between the two countries.
U.S.-China Fact Sheet on Energy Efficiency Action Plan

4.  U.S.-China Renewable Energy Partnership. The two Presidents announced the launch of a new U.S.-China Renewable Energy Partnership.  Under the Partnership, the two countries will develop roadmaps for wide-spread renewable energy deployment in both countries.  The Partnership will also provide technical and analytical resources to states and regions in both countries to support renewable energy deployment and will facilitate state-to-state and region-to-region partnerships to share experience and best practices.  A new Advanced Grid Working Group will bring together U.S. and Chinese policymakers, regulators, industry leaders, and civil society to develop strategies for grid modernization in both countries.  A new U.S.-China Renewable Energy Forum will be held annually, rotating between the two countries.
U.S.-China Fact Sheet on Renewable Energy Partnership

5.  21st Century Coal. The two Presidents pledged to promote cooperation on cleaner uses of coal, including large-scale carbon capture and storage (CCS) demonstration projects.  Through the new U.S.-China Clean Energy Research Center, the two countries are launching a program of technical cooperation to bring teams of U.S. and Chinese scientists and engineers together in developing clean coal and CCS technologies.  The two governments are also actively engaging industry, academia, and civil society in advancing clean coal and CCS solutions.  The Presidents welcomed: (i) a grant from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency to the China Power Engineering and Consulting Group Corporation to support a feasibility study for an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plant in China using American technology, (ii) an agreement by Missouri-based Peabody Energy to participate in GreenGen, a project of several major Chinese energy companies to develop a near-zero emissions coal-fired power plant, (iii) an agreement between GE and Shenhua Corporation to collaborate on the development and deployment of IGCC and other clean coal technologies; and (iv) an agreement between AES and Songzao Coal and Electric Company to use methane captured from a coal mine in Chongqing, China, to generate electricity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
U.S.-China Fact Sheet on 21st Century Coal

6.  Shale Gas Initiative. The two Presidents announced the launch of a new U.S.-China Shale Gas Resource Initiative.  Under the Initiative, the U.S. and China will use experience gained in the United States to assess China’s shale gas potential, promote environmentally-sustainable development of shale gas resources, conduct joint technical studies to accelerate development of shale gas resources in China, and promote shale gas investment in China through the U.S.-China Oil and Gas Industry Forum, study tours, and workshops.
U.S.-China Fact Sheet on Shale Gas Initiative

7.  U.S.-China Energy Cooperation Program. The two Presidents announced the establishment of the U.S.-China Energy Cooperation Program.  The program will leverage private sector resources for project development work in China across a broad array of clean energy projects, to the benefit of both nations.  More than 22 companies are founding members of the program.  The ECP will include collaborative projects on renewable energy, smart grid, clean transportation, green building, clean coal, combined heat and power, and energy efficiency.

Hundreds of Chinese Flying Lanterns Will Light Up Ellipse as Activists Urge Obama to Attend Copenhagen

Who: Climate activists with the Avaaz DC Climate Action Factory
What: Candlelight vigil, glow-in-the-dark balloon banner, and hundreds of flying Chinese paper lanterns
Where: Southern end of the Ellipse, south of the White House near 15th St. and Constitution Ave., NW
When: 6:30 PM, Tuesday, November 17th

Washington, DC — Tuesday evening, as President Obama continues his visit with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing, youth climate activists will light and release hundreds of Chinese flying lanterns into the air around the White House. The activists are making an urgent call for Obama to stop delaying a global climate treaty and for the US to stop lagging behind while other countries—including China—take action on climate change.

PHOTO OP: Hundreds of lanterns flying into the night sky with White House and Washington Monument as a backdrop; glow-in-the-dark banner held up by helium balloons.