What is bad, is a the lack of a coherent and realistic green programs and climate forecasts in EU as a whole. There are no incentive programs to switch to expensive one time EV purchases and charger installations (I tried to research what what would it cost to install a personal charger in my freshly constructed 2024 apartment building parking in a big city, the AI app called me a fool, well almost(1)). There are no coherent plans to expand charging networks at a state or union levels.
There solar panels, V2G, B2G, multizone electricity meters, dynamic tariffs, incentives, all are either non-existent or very spotty and organized at local levels.
There are no union wide help to transition from coal, oil, gas to relatively greener energy.
No re-foresation incentives and little to no marine protection.
No preparation for a real 3C temperature hike by the year 2100, instead the fantasy 1.5C or 2C numbers are reiterated and the populace is lulled into thinking all will be well for their kids.
I can continue the list, but the picture is of incompetence and apathy really. A few token and inconsequential efforts are done, just enough for re-elections, and that's it.
1: "This is the classic "pioneer dilemma" discussed on Polish forums. If you pay the 3,000 PLN because you are the first, and next year Neighbor B and Neighbor C get EVs, it is deeply unfair for you to keep subsidizing the overall risk profile. To protect yourself, you must not sign a contract that binds you to a flat fee indefinitely." (c) generated by AI
So yes, I do currently think that the reality of life is that certain whole societies are in the given moment (now) more progressive than others. Or do you believe that some BRICS pseudo-union would collectively push for more green tech than EU is doing now (even though EU foreign policy actions are mostly impotent)?
Sure, maybe China will eventually take a lead in green tech policies, or maybe it even already did, though I'm not convinced so far. As soon as that happens visibly,I would gladly change my opinion and would advocate that now EU should follow more progressive lead (as long as Xi don't start WW3 for some "dvizhukha" like other demented autocrats did).
PS: and don't attribute to me stuff I didn't say, like this "we can export our Lovely Eco Friendly Culture more, the more we power it with coal and oil and gas."(c)
Europe's car manufacturers need to get their shit together, but not being able to buy any car whatsoever the moment China gets their own Donald Trump is worse than cars being slightly worse and a bit more expensive for a while.
The problem is China burns coal for power on crazy scale, destroying the planet in the process.
You don't think that might account for some of their low cost of production?
China subsidizes residential power, whereas the U.S. discounts industrial power.
Industrial rates
-----------------------------------
Electricity prices for businesses amounted to 11.6 cents per kilowatt-hour on the U.S. dollar in China in April 2026.
The national average retail electricity price for the U.S. industrial sector is 9.77 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) as of July 2026
------------------------------------
Consumer rates
------------------------------------
Average consumer electricity rates in China stand at approximately 0.52 to 0.55 CNY per kWh (around $0.078 to $0.080 USD per kWh)
The average U.S. residential electricity rate is approximately 19.6 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) as of mid-to-late 2026
-------------------------------------
China's EV's are cheaper because of vertical integration, dark factories, and razor thin profit margins
Yes chinese factories are a LOT more automated than Tesla
Elon Musk :excessive automation at Tesla was a mistake... humans are underrated
None of Tesla's production lines can compare to the below video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGF1Zwa7324
And attacking them for burning coal is dumb, China burns coal because they have nothing else.
The US burns gas, because the US produces massive amounts of it as a byproduct of oil, there are a limited number of NG pipelines and LNG tankers and they cannot export all the gaas produced from oil drilling. SO they dump this natural gas into regional pipelines sometimes for near zero prices.
A business building EV's in the US would pay less for electricity than a business in China
But if it is a real emergency, surely we would just want any EVs we can get, to encourage building out the infrastructure for them.
You want to destroy the automotive industry in Europe so we can increase dependance on Chinese EVs?
Hilarious compared to what exactly lmao? The US? China? Russia? TYhE GlObAl SoUtH? OPEC?
The world is a giant school playground where the bullies in charge are competing for #1 position on the goober eating contest while the school is burning
On the other hand, with the money the EU spends on climate measures, the results leave a lot to be desired. The EU has prioritized things like hydrogen, biofuels and carbon capture, which all have very little to show for.
If Europe had spent all that money on EVs and heat pumps, emissions would have decreased drastically while prices woundn't even go up. But that's not possible if you want to preserve old jobs. Then you have to do those stupid things that aren't viable, like e-fuels for cars.
I'm also not sure if replacing coal with gas did actually decrease emissions on the whole. The gas lobby is a large reason why electrification has stalled in Europe, while China's coal lobby helped electric trucks to reach 50% share last month.
That does not make climate change any less of an emergency, but it limits politically feasible countermeasures a lot.