Common Challenge, Collective Response
Climate change is a challenge faced by the entire world. Like any other part of the world, China and Africa are both victims of climate change, with Africa feeling even greater pain due to its relatively poor infrastructure and a predominantly agricultural economy.
Africa is one of the regions in the world that are hit hardest by climate change. It has experienced widespread land desertification, frequent extreme weather events and a fragile ecological environment in the recent years. The continent’s need for green and low-carbon transformation is urgent.
China, in recent years, has unswervingly pursued green and low carbon development and has accumulated rich experience, which makes it an ideal partner for Africa, and provides a solid foundation for cooperation with African countries and other developing countries in designing and implementing common responses to climate change.
China is actively engaged in a number of renewable energy projects in Africa. According to a new report jointly released by the International Energy Agency (IEA), the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), the United Nations Statistics Division, the World Bank, and the World Health Organisation on 12 June 2022, 570 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa are living without electricity, accounting for more than 80 percent of the global population without such access. China’s wind power and photovoltaic products are exported to more than 200 countries and regions around the world, helping developing countries, including African countries, to obtain clean, reliable and affordable energy.
Climate crisis
Despite its limited contribution to climate change, the African continent is significantly affected by global warming, which ultimately threatens the continent’s socio-economic development, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) has warned.
Data from UNECA show that currently, 17 out of the 20 countries most threatened by climate change are located in Africa, and climate change impacts 2 percent to 9 percent of national budgets across the continent.
In recent years, Africa has faced profound challenges due to climate change, including shifting weather patterns, rising temperatures, and more frequent extreme events, threatening the environment, livelihoods, and social stability. The African Economic Outlook 2022 projects current economic losses from climate change at $7 billion-$15 billion annually, which is expected to rise to about $50 billion by 2030, with up to 15 percent reduction in economic growth and increased strain on the society.
The same goes with China. Despite its impressive record, the National Development and Reform Commission says China still faces difficulties and challenges in green transition, with the energy structure remaining biased towards coal and the proportion of fossil energy and traditional industries remaining high in the country.
Climate change has caused severe damage to China’s natural ecosystems and is posing a rising threat to the economic and social systems. The risk of water scarcity has increased significantly, glaciers are retreating, and the range of permafrost has decreased. Vegetation phenology is significantly affected by climate change, stability has decreased, and the distribution of vegetation zones has generally shifted to high latitudes and high altitudes. Coastal sea levels have risen, marine disasters have become more frequent and stronger, and marine and coastal ecosystems are seriously threatened.
Pioneer in green energy
A greener China is making substantial contributions to the global climate change response and green transformation.
As the world’s largest clean energy market and equipment manufacturer, China has actively integrated into the global clean energy industrial chain, providing a stable supply of high-quality products.
China’s green energy development has become an engine for global energy transition. Since 2013, China has been responsible for over 40 percent of the annual additions to global renewable energy capacity. In 2023, the newly installed capacity in China accounted for more than half of the world’s total.
According to the Renewables 2023 report released by the IEA, the global share of non-fossil fuels in energy consumption rose from 13.6 percent to 18.5 percent from 2014 to 2023, with China contributing 45.2 percent to this increase.
China has ranked first in the world for eight consecutive years in production and sales of new energy vehicles. According to official data from China’s Ministry of Public Security, the number of new energy vehicles nationwide had reached 16.2 million by the end of June this year.
“China is key in the decarbonisation of the energy we use today,” said COP28 President-Designate Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber in an interview with Xinhua News Agency, noting that more than three-quarters of the world’s solar panels, around 60 percent of the world’s wind turbines, and three-quarters of the lithium-ion batteries on this planet come from China.
China is not just making what the world needs for the energy transition, its industrial strength is also bringing down costs for every nation.
According to a whitepaper titled China’s Energy Transition released by China’s State Council Information Office in August this year, China’s exports of wind and photovoltaic products helped to reduce carbon emissions in other countries by 810 million tonnes, and its own renewable energy generation directly reduced carbon emissions by about 3 billion tonnes in 2023.
From giant offshore wind turbines to cutting-edge crystalline silicon batteries, the country has continuously made new technological breakthroughs for new energy products, raising energy conversion efficiency and significantly reducing costs.
Pragmatic cooperation
China is active in promoting international cooperation on addressing climate challenges, especially with African countries. Green cooperation has been a major highlight of China-Africa cooperation.
Green development is a prominent part of the eight major initiatives and nine programmes jointly implemented by China and Africa under the framework of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). The Eighth FOCAC Ministerial Conference held in November 2021 in Dakar adopted the Declaration on China-Africa Cooperation on Combating Climate Change. China has signed cooperation documents on climate change with many African countries and has provided support to Africa in addressing climate change by implementing climate change mitigation and adaptation projects, jointly building low-carbon demonstration zones, and conducting capacity building training.
Green cooperation figured prominently in the discussions during the FOCAC Beijing Summit held early September. Besides the China-Africa Dialogue on Environment and Climate Change and the subsequent release of the Initiative on Strengthening China-Africa Cooperation for Green and Sustainable Development during the summit, leaders from several African countries including South Africa, Kenya and Zimbabwe expressed interest in deepening cooperation in fields such as new energy during meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In a joint statement, China and South Africa also announced to co-host the New Energy Investment Conferences by chambers or associations of commerce from both sides.
Besides, more than 170 partners from 40 countries, including seven African nations, have joined the Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition. The coalition has promoted green industry cooperation by implementing eco-friendly technologies such as photovoltaic power generation, wastewater treatment and electric vehicles in participating countries.
Li Yonghong, deputy director of the Foreign Environmental Cooperation Centre of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, said that through platforms such as the China-Africa Environmental Cooperation Centre and the Belt and Road Initiative International Green Development Coalition, joint research efforts, including studies on climate change and sustainable development in China and Africa, have resulted in the publication of various reports.
“China has trained over 1,500 participants from African countries in areas such as environmental management, pollution control, green economy and climate change to boost capacity in green development,” he said during a news conference ahead of the 2024 FOCAC Beijing Summit.
Li also mentioned that China has signed 19 memorandums of understanding on South-South cooperation to address climate change with 17 African countries. Under the agreements, China has provided equipment such as a micro-satellite system, a solar photovoltaic power station and over 3,000 solar streetlights.
Reaping significant outcomes
Energy shortages are a common issue faced by many African countries. By 2030, a total of 660 million people worldwide will be without electricity, most of them in the Sub-Saharan Africa, according to an IEA report.
At the same time, Africa possesses abundant renewable energy resources. IEA data show that Africa’s solar, wind, and hydropower reserves account for 40 percent, 32 percent and 12 percent of global reserves respectively, and have enormous potential for renewable energy development. China’s experience in green development can greatly help Africa to utilise this resource.
Up to now, under the framework of FOCAC, China has implemented hundreds of clean energy and green development projects in Africa.
The Chinese-constructed 50-mw Garissa Solar Power Station in northeast Kenya is the largest photovoltaic power project in East Africa. Since it began operations in 2019, the solar power plant has generated over 76 million kwh annually, meeting the electricity needs of 70,000 households and more than 380,000 people. The project has not only alleviated the headache of frequent power outages, but also promoted local industrial and commercial development, creating numerous job opportunities, said the company.
This is not the only example. In 2023, China Electric Power Equipment and Technology Co. signed a memorandum of understanding to develop a 10-gw solar energy project in Egypt.
Since 2021, Chinese solar group LONGi Green Energy Technology Co. Ltd. has directly supplied over 1 gw of photovoltaic modules to more than 30 African countries.
Mao Xiaojing, director of the Institute for West Asian and African Studies under the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said that China-Africa clean energy cooperation has effectively improved the power supply situation in African countries and provided strong support for Africa’s climate change response and green transition.
