China joining hands with Africa in addressing climate change, says official

BEIJING, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) -- China is cooperating with Africa to address climate change and has provided concrete aid to African states to help them build better capacity, said an official on Monday as the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) is set to kick off.

"Climate change is a common challenge mankind faces, requiring joint efforts from all countries worldwide. Both China and African nations are deeply affected by climate change, and they have been actively responding to it," said Li Yonghong, deputy director of the Foreign Environmental Cooperation Center of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.

Li made the remarks at a press briefing of the FOCAC summit, which will be convened from Wednesday to Friday this week.

Li added that China and African states are advancing the Declaration on China-Africa Cooperation on Combating Climate Change, and have established a strategic partnership dedicated to addressing this global issue. The two sides have also launched a special action plan for the cooperation.

China has signed 19 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on South-South cooperation to address climate change with 17 African countries. It has signed an MoU with Seychelles to establish a low-carbon demonstration zone under the framework of South-South cooperation on climate change. China is now exploring cooperation with Nigeria on the construction of a low-carbon demonstration zone, according to Li.

In terms of projects for mitigating and adapting to climate change, China has to date aided African states with one microsatellite system, one meteorological satellite mobile ground station, one solar power station, over 3,000 solar LED streetlights, more than 20,000 solar power systems, nearly 20,000 energy-efficient air conditioners, and over 800,000 LED energy-efficient lighting kits. Those assistances have significantly enhanced the capacity of relevant African countries to mitigate and adapt to climate change, said Li.

In September 2023, China proposed the "Africa Solar Belt" program, which focuses on Africa's abundant solar resources and clean energy development. Through material assistance, exchanges and dialogues, joint research and capacity building, the project aims to create a demonstration zone for China-Africa cooperation on solar resource utilization, helping relevant African countries address electricity shortage, according to Li.

"In the future, China is willing to further strengthen communication, coordination, and practical cooperation with African countries in climate change, jointly enhancing their capacity to tackle climate change, and injecting more positive energy into building a fair, reasonable, and win-win global climate governance system," said Li.