Al Gore: China’s Climate Surge Simply Shocked Me

Al Gore was not counting on China to sprint to the head of the clean-energy pack. But that is where the former American vice president finds the world today: China putting an “electric power state” together at breathless speed even as America’s leadership ebbs and flows. His astonishment isn’t geopolitical so much as it is about pace — how fast China has scaled solar, wind, batteries and electric vehicles, recasting global supply chains and the carbon math.

China’s swift climb to a clean-energy powerhouse

By all measurements, China’s buildout is outsized. The International Energy Agency estimates that nearly two-thirds of global energy investment now goes toward clean technologies, and China takes a huge chunk of that money. In a single recent year, China added more than 200 gigawatts of solar capacity — more than the world had installed in any previous year. China produces the majority of the world’s photovoltaic modules, lithium-ion batteries and critical materials processing (from mines to megawatts), according to BloombergNEF, providing it with end-to-end scale from mines to megawatts.

Electrification of transportation says the same thing. More than half of new electric vehicles sold worldwide last year were in China, where national champions like BYD are exporting aggressively. In heavy industry and grid infrastructure, in power-hungry provinces like Xinjiang where these efforts are centered, China is now laying new ultra-high-voltage transmission lines to move renewable power between provinces — an essential spine for an electricity-first economy.

The ‘electro state’ thesis: ambition with contradictions

Gore’s crew dubs China the first “electro state,” as a nation shaping growth by electrifying demand and delivering more of it with ever fewer carbon emissions. The label fits the scale. But it also sits alongside uncomfortable truths: a rise in the number of permits issued for new coal plants, according to both Global Energy Monitor and the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. A lot of these units, though, are to be operated at low utilization — insurance against hydropower droughts and short-term balancing needs as renewables (and storage) catch up. It’s a bet that coal will run less, over time, even if that capacity sits on the books.

Crucially, too, Beijing has indicated that it will shift away from carbon intensity targets to absolute cuts in emissions — a significant statement of faith. Reaching that goal will depend on speeding up behind-the-meter storage, grid flexibility and demand-side management to allow the wondrous surge in solar and wind to unseat coal not only on paper but also in practice.

America’s policy whiplash and missed opportunity

Gore’s frustration is not so much about China’s ascent as the unevenness of America’s follow-through. The U.S. catalyzed a manufacturing renaissance in batteries, solar components and clean hydrogen with game-changing incentives, but investment signals have been blurred by policy reversals, legal wrangling and permitting gridlock. Grid operators in the United States believe hundreds of gigawatts of proposed renewables and storage are now stranded in interconnection queues. The upshot: a slower buildout precisely as data centers, electrified transport and re-shored industry drive demand for electricity higher.

The IEA’s latest investment outlook found that clean capital is outpacing fossil spending worldwide by nearly 2 to 1. Gore’s message is unvarnished: The United States can either catch that wave or watch it remake markets from elsewhere. The leadership, in this framing, is counted in factories built, lines strung and emissions avoided — not speeches.

Measure what matters: from promises to actual emissions

One underappreciated change is moving from promises to proof. The Climate TRACE coalition, supported by philanthropies and investors linked to Gore, uses satellites, artificial intelligence and public data to estimate emissions from millions of sources of pollution around the world. The idea is simple enough: Identify where pollution is actually coming from in near real time so that regulators, financiers and communities can respond to hard numbers rather than self-reported claims.

In the case of China, improved monitoring will gauge how rapidly recent record-breaking renewable additions are generating displacement of coal and a leveling off of national emissions. For the U.S., it provides guardrails when regulatory reporting slackens and a means for markets to reward real reductions as opposed to accounting maneuvers.

AI, Soaring Power Demand and a Clear Grid Stress Test

The next wild card is artificial intelligence. The IEA calculates that data centers already use about 2% of the world’s electricity and are on track to at least double energy demand over the next few years as AI training goes large. Gore’s take is pragmatic: The same technologies pushing the transition — inexpensive solar, falling battery costs, advances in geothermal, smarter load management — can meet this new demand if policy keeps up. Corporate buyers are signing long-term clean power contracts, co-locating batteries and even exploring 24/7 carbon-free electricity to match compute growth with decarbonization.

The flip side is clear. Fossil peakers will fill these gaps if grid upgrades lag and planning fails; the AI boom will dilute any emissions gains elsewhere. The playbook is the same, whether in Shenzhen or Silicon Valley: Construct lines, empty queues and favor firm, clean capacity alongside variable renewables.

Why Gore’s surprise matters for the global energy shift

What Gore admits is not only that the fastest nation takes the lead in the energy transition, but an even greater strategic reality: the fastest nation leads, and rhetoric and legacy no longer come in second place. China’s size has curved global cost curves and the supply of the major hardware concerned. Trade tensions and tariff walls may rearrange who captures value, but when it comes to climate accounting, only tons of CO2 averted will do. And, on that ledger, installations beat intentions.

The remaining question is timing. Science bodies from the IPCC to the World Meteorological Organization have warned that warming-driven extremes are deepening and that crucial Earth systems are flashing warning signs. Gore’s postscript mirrors the data: The shift is inevitable, but urgency — not inevitability — will determine our future. China is sprinting. The entire world, including the United States, needs to couple speed with execution.