Counting the Cost

Can the EU compete with US and China as a hub for green products?

The European Union has drawn up a plan to boost the production of electric cars and renewable energy projects.

The International Energy Agency estimates the global market for mass-produced clean energy will triple to around $650bn a year by 2030.

The world’s biggest economies want a slice of that growing industry.

The United States Congress recently passed the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes billions of dollars in grants and loans to boost financing and deployment of clean energy projects. But it has sparked a trade dispute with allies in Europe.

Now the European Union has set out its own plan to compete with the US as a production hub for green products.

Elsewhere, we look at why Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is threatening the central bank’s autonomy.