The green economy is heating up and countries are adopting defensive positions as they seek to strengthen their homegrown manufacturing and diversify supply chains. Free trade agreements increasingly exclude clean technologies, export restrictions are growing steadily, and tariffs on products like solar panels and electric vehicles are trending upward.
Here’s a look at how protectionist measures are pushing countries into walled markets that limit the flow of low-cost clean technologies:
Since 2020, countries around the world have implemented nearly 200 trade policies targeting clean energy, compared to only 40 in the five years before.
Close to 40% of those trade measures were protectionist, and 70% targeted three technologies: solar power, batteries and electric vehicles.
China dominates all three of those sectors, and almost half of its vehicle exports are now electric.
The United States has imposed a 100% tariff on those EVs and raised its tariff on Chinese solar to 50%.
Meanwhile, the World Trade Organization says that non-tariff restrictions are on the rise and they can be up to 10 times more restrictive than tariffs.
All these barriers are changing the flow of green goods: 31% of China’s cleantech exports now go to emerging markets, up from 23% in 2022.
To circumvent trade restrictions and tap new markets, Chinese firms have pledged more than US$210 billion for overseas green manufacturing since 2022.
From the spring 2026 edition of the magazine
Sources: Net Zero Policy Lab, International Energy Association, OECD, WTO, BloombergNEF
The Weekly Roundup
Get all our stories in one place, every Wednesday at noon EST.
