China-Africa new energy cooperation allows more “small but beautiful” projects to benefit Africa

“The global energy crisis has shown renewables are critical for making energy supplies not just cleaner but also more secure and affordable – and governments are responding with efforts to deploy them faster. Policies need to adapt to changing market conditions and upgrade and expand power grids to ensure we can take full advantage of solar and wind’s huge potential,” says Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency.

At the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the discussion on innovative cooperation models between China and Africa in the field of clean energy attracted a lot of attention. A number of small-scale "small but beautiful" China-Africa energy cooperation projects that focus on people's livelihood and community needs are taking root and creating social, economic and environmental benefits for African countries in a sustainable way.

During this conference, a forum with the theme of "Innovation Leads China-Africa Cooperation and Releases the Potential of 'Photovoltaic+'" attracted more than 20 representatives from all walks of life in China and Africa. Everyone provided suggestions and suggestions on how to establish a China-Africa cooperation platform to allow more Chinese innovative forces to enter Africa and help "photovoltaic +" to be implemented in Africa, and discussed ways of cooperation. Chen Zhi hua, deputy director of China's National Center for Strategic Research and International Cooperation on Climate Change, said: "African countries have always been a key area for us to carry out South-South cooperation on climate change. Helping African countries achieve new energy development and green and low-carbon transformation has always been our priority. The direction of cooperation.”

In September, China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced the implementation of the “African Light Belt” project, which will build climate-friendly “photovoltaic+” projects through cooperation, promote exchanges and dialogues on climate and photovoltaic development, carry out photovoltaic strategic planning and supporting policy research, and implement capacity building projects, etc. way, using the advantages of China's photovoltaic industry to help solve the problem of electricity and lighting for poor households in Africa.

Gu Hong bin, deputy director of the China Hydro power and Water Conservancy Planning and Design Institute, said that the "photovoltaic +" solution has good adaptability to Africa and its communities, can be flexibly arranged in multiple energy usage scenarios, and is valuable for promoting the coordinated development of local economies and societies in Africa. important practical significance.

Zhang Xiaohua, China Director of the Climate Work Foundation, said that China has explored many application scenarios and solutions in the field of "photovoltaic +", which can be effectively combined with Africa's energy needs in agriculture, water supply and other fields, and has explored a variety of photovoltaic application forms and solutions in Africa. Scenes.

Jide Ijiado, Africa Director of Global Energy Transition at the Climate Works Foundation, believes that Africa has abundant solar energy resources and developing solar energy can help Africa eliminate energy poverty, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create green jobs, and improve the living conditions of local residents.

On the 8th, the “Belt and Road” green and low-carbon transformation cooperation seminar held at the China Corner of the Dubai Climate Conference also focused on China-Africa energy innovation cooperation. At the meeting, it was announced that the "China-Africa Energy Innovation Cooperation Accelerator Project" was officially launched. According to Jiang Hao, director of the International Business Department of China Hydropower Planning and Design Institute, the project will select and promote innovative cases and innovative technological solutions that help Africa's energy transformation under the framework of the China-AU Energy Partnership. "This accelerator project was born in the context of the tenth anniversary of the joint construction of the 'Belt and Road' initiative. It focuses on China-Africa new energy 'small but beautiful' innovative energy projects, especially those that benefit people's livelihood, and encourages and supports them to land in Africa. "

Marco Lambertini, special envoy of WWF and co-chairman of the International Alliance for Green Development along the Belt and Road, told reporters: “For a long time, everyone has focused on large-scale investment and construction projects, while underestimating the importance of smaller-scale infrastructure construction. Importance." He believes that it is very important to promote reasonable energy solutions in Africa and other underdeveloped areas of the world, such as investing in the construction of mini-grids in underdeveloped rural areas. Lambertini believes that these small and medium-sized infrastructures that support sustainable development can, on the one hand, have important economic and social impacts on remote and underdeveloped areas, and on the other hand, they can also protect the environment in different ways. "This is the 'Belt and Road' All the way 'an interesting new direction for green development'.　　The Impact Factory Shanghai Innovation Center is a co-sponsor of the accelerator project. Its director, Fei Xiaojing, introduced that through extensive preliminary research on local demand in Africa, "photovoltaic +", small-scale biogas projects, low-cost green hydrogen production, storage and transportation , application solutions, development and utilization of renewable energy such as wind energy, geothermal energy, small-scale hydro power, terminal electrification, clean cooking, energy efficiency improvement technology, digital technology supporting platform and other related supporting technologies, skills training and equipment operation and maintenance services, etc. will be the focus of the accelerator project. “The final selected cases and technical solutions will be disseminated and promoted, and connected with local African resources to achieve implementation.”

Mandy Ramharos, vice president of global climate cooperation at the Environmental Protection Agency, believes that compared with large-scale investment and construction projects that are difficult, time-consuming, and difficult to implement, these small-scale projects can solve targeted problems in remote areas of African countries. Based on actual needs, it is easier to implement, advance and implement with financial support and permission from local communities.

Many representatives of the Dubai Climate Conference interviewed by this reporter believed that the concept of “small but beautiful” has injected fresh force into China-Africa clean energy cooperation. Innovative, flexible, and practical projects can not only bring clean energy dividends to the African region, but also provide reference experience for other regions and set a model of sustainable development in more communities.