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China-Africa cooperation helps drive global efforts to address climate change

In his keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, President Xi Jinping announced a series of measures to boost China-Africa green development cooperation, including 10 green development, environmental protection and climate action projects for Africa, support for the development of a "Great Green Wall", and building centers of excellence in Africa for low-carbon development and climate change adaptation. As 2022 marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the African Union, China is willing to work with Africa to address the challenges of climate change and take China's relations with the AU to a new level.

As the world moves toward a carbon-neutral era, climate change has become a geopolitical and geo-economic battleground. Geopolitical competition on climate actions will stimulate green investment, green industrial technology development and promote global climate change action. Africa, the focus of global climate geopolitical cooperation, is the region most vulnerable to climate change, and the combined economic and climate risks of the COVID-19 pandemic are hitting Africa hard.

The United States' Green New Deal, the European Green Deal and China-Africa cooperation have all referred to support for climate change adaptation and green infrastructure in Africa. The climate cooperation between the major powers in Africa will have an impact on the evolution of the global climate geographical cooperation landscape.

Africa suffers from the long-term effects of the global climate security deficit. Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing the world, and African countries contribute a small and slow-growing share of global greenhouse gas emissions. Since the 21st century, Africa's carbon dioxide emissions have slowly increased in line with its economic and social development, accounting for approximately 3.7 percent of the world's carbon emissions in 2019.However, due to factors such as geography and stage of development, African countries are the most vulnerable regions affected by climate change, with Africa's least developed countries and small island states all facing increasing threats to their security in the face of climate change. Food security, sustainable water supply and extreme weather phenomena are major issues that need to be addressed jointly by Africa and the world.

Due to geographical factors and economic underdevelopment, African countries lack the capacity to cope with climate change, are suffering more than other regions and are likely to bear more losses in the future. This is why African countries are particularly looking for climate equity and climate justice.

Over the past few decades, China-Africa cooperation has been broadening its scope, among which strengthening cooperation in addressing climate change is a new highlight. With the release of the Declaration on China-Africa Cooperation on Combating Climate Change in 2021, China-Africa cooperation will continue to build on the past and raise the cooperation between the two sides to a deeper and more practical level. China, the largest developing country, and Africa, the most environmentally vulnerable region, have compatible sustainable development strategies and complementary development advantages, making China-Africa cooperation a pioneer in international cooperation with Africa, which can drive the development of the global climate governance process. China and Africa need to advocate green and low-carbon development, actively promote solar, wind and other sources of renewable energy, work for the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change and keep strengthening the capacity for sustainable development.

In terms of strategy and policy dovetailing, China and the African countries have converging interests in the geopolitical cooperation among the major powers, and both sides have emphasized solidarity in the multilateral framework to address climate change issues. With regard to the construction of mechanisms and the promotion of exchanges, China and Africa should focus on information interaction and exchange of development experiences. Since 2012, China and Africa have jointly organized the Seminar on China-Africa Green Cooperation to Guide the Future Economy and China-Africa Ministerial Dialogue on Environmental Cooperation to promote enhanced communication and coordination on environmental governance policies.

The China-Africa Environment Cooperation Centre was launched in 2020, building an important platform for the participation of China and Africa, as well as relevant international organizations, research institutions and enterprises. As of September 2021, seven African countries, including Angola and Kenya, have joined the Belt and Road International Alliance for Green Development, making a positive contribution to the construction of the Green Silk Road.

Based on the actual needs of China-Africa cooperation, deepening China-Africa climate cooperation is on the official agenda for China-Africa cooperation. On November 30,2021, the Declaration on China-Africa Cooperation on Combating Climate Change adopted at the Eighth Ministerial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation announced that the heads of delegations of the People's Republic of China, 53 African countries and the AU Commission have jointly decided to establish a China-Africa partnership of strategic cooperation of the new era to fight climate change.

China and Africa are both developing entities, and since African countries are far different from the developed countries in terms of historical responsibility, level of development, stage of development and capacity, China should continue to support the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities "and Africa's "development first, climate balanced" right to equitable development in the global climate negotiations. In the implementation of the Paris Agreement, the G77+China should continue to seek funding and the transfer of technology from developed countries for development and adaptation to climate change in Africa.

China has accumulated a wealth of experience applicable to Africa in the field of ecological civilization construction and low-carbon development, and the knowledge-sharing of Chinese best practices will help African countries in their green recovery process. Transnational and inter-regional cooperation on clean and low-carbon energy technology innovation and green recovery needs to be strengthened.

Also, China-Africa joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative will contribute to the ecological and environmental governance in Africa by strengthening infrastructure construction in Africa, especially clean energy projects such as photovoltaic and hydroelectric power stations, promoting the construction of the Green Belt and Road, strengthening ecological and environmental governance along the Belt and Road, and enhancing international cooperation on climate security.

Yu Hongyuan is a professor and director of the Institute for Comparative Politics and Public Policy at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. Liu Luying is a research assistant of the Institute for Comparative Politics and Public Policy at the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. The authors contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.

Contact the editor at editor@chinawatch.cn