HANGZHOU: Enhanced cooperation between China, Europe and Africa in new energy will not only help to address global climate change and achieve sustainable development for the three parties, but also bring stability to a volatile and uncertain world, according to a top Chinese official.
“Climate change is a common challenge facing all humanity, unilateralism is a dead end, and only collaborative efforts can effectively tackle the issue,” said Liu Qibao, vice-chairman of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference.
He spoke at the second China-Europe-Africa Green Energy Development Forum, where senior Chinese and foreign officials and diplomats, as well as industry leaders gathered in Wenzhou, East China’s Zhejiang province, to discuss ways to boost green energy transition and mitigate the risks of climate change.
The forum, first held in 2022 in Hangzhou, aims to deepen partnerships between China, Europe and Africa and build a green energy development community among them to face climate-induced challenges.
In recent years, China has launched a series of green action initiatives and provided the world with clean, safe and reliable energy supply solutions through green infrastructure, green energy, green transportation, green finance and other measures, said Liu, who is also president of the China-EU Association.
The initiatives include multiple bilateral and multilateral partnerships and cooperative mechanisms with Europe and hundreds of clean energy and green development projects in Africa.
However, the global warming trend has not been adequately curbed, and rising geopolitical conflicts and regional wars have posed new difficulties for some countries and regions to cope with climate change, Liu warned.
A newly released report by Tsinghua University shows that renewable energy, a critical pillar of the carbon neutrality transition, is not expanding fast enough to meet the COP28 target set in December last year, which called for a threefold increase in global renewable energy capacity by 2030.
A major obstacle, it is believed, is the seeming surge in protectionism.
With a zero-sum mentality, certain countries have taken protectionist and unilateral actions, throwing artificial blocks in the path of a global low-carbon transition, according to Liu.
“At present, green energy cooperation between China, Europe and Africa still faces challenges such as technical barriers, market access, investment and financing,” said CHINT Group chairman Nan Cunhui.
Both have called for a more open, inclusive and transparent market environment.
Earlier this month, the EU voted to impose tariffs on its imports of Chinese electric vehicles, a move that drew criticism from Gilles Pargneaux, a former member of the European Parliament, at the forum. –– China Daily/ANN
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