[haiwainet.cn] Cui Shoujun: China BRI Promotes Global Clean Energy Development

At present, the development of global clean energy faces unprecedented historic opportunities. Climate change, energy shortage, oil price fluctuation, technological revolution are reshaping the global clean energy landscape. As China has made great progress in the production and application of renewable energy, China’s technology and experience will significantly promote the clean energy development in countries along the Belt and Road route, becoming one of the major driving forces to push forward global energy transformation.

The Status Quo of China Clean Energy Development

A late start, yet China developed rapidly in clean energy. Over the past decades, China worked hard to improve its performance in clean energy field, and now it tops in terms of the performance of overall installed capacity, equipment manufacturing, green investment and market development. By the end of 2017, the installed capacity of national wind turbines reached 188 million KW, of solar photovoltaic power up to 130 million KW, and of hydropower 341 KW, ranking among the top nations in the clean energy industry. In addition to wind power, solar power and hydropower, China is also promoting the development of nuclear power and bio-energy.

International Energy Agency wrote in its report of World Energy Outlook 2017: China that China is switching to a cleaner source of power. Strong deployment and policy support continue to bring costs down for renewables, and solar PV becomes China’s cheapest form of electricity generation. Installed low-carbon capacity, led by hydropower, wind and solar PV, grows rapidly and makes up 60% of total capacity by 2040.

Challenges to Global Clean Energy Development

Science and technology are the key factors in the promotion of energy transformation. Investment and technological R&D in different countries around the world are unbalanced because of the varying economic conditions and natural resources. For instance, Northern European countries generally attached more importance to the clean energy technology and consumption than countries in Middle East region who are abundant in oil and fossil energy. In Africa and Latin America, it will be more difficult considering the limits of their industrialization and awareness of environmental protection.

Low oil price also limits the process of global energy transformation. Greenhouse gases caused global warm and climate disorder, and oil resources are the root of regional geopolitical uncertainties, thus threatening world peace, economic stability and environment security. But the oil price remains at the low level that less developed countries and low-income consumers are more inclined to use the traditional fossil energy.

The resurgence of trade protectionism disturbs the global trade order in new energy industry. Great power competition leads to the disturbance of global new energy market as developed countries strengthened protection over their domestic new energy industries and put more limits on China and India’s new energy enterprises.

The Belt and Road Initiative Helps Promote Global Clean Energy Development

The Belt and Road Initiative build a platform for Chinese clean energy industry to cooperate with international counterparts, fully taking advantage of Chinese technology and experience to advance the transformation of global energy and the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. First of all, the BRI projects will drive forward the infrastructure construction of clean energy in the BRI countries. Take African BRI countries for example, China helped them to develop clean energy projects of biogas power, wind power and solar power according to local conditions, improving their energy structure and people’s life. Solving the problem of transforming natural resources into electric power, local economic sustainable development thus can be assured.

Secondly, the Belt and Road Initiative can help improve the global energy governance system. In September 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced that China will set up a 20-billion-yuan (3.1-billion-U.S. dollar) South-South cooperation fund to help other developing countries cope with the effects of climate change. The BRI cleared that clean energy will be the basis of China’s building of “green silk road”, pursuing in-depth cooperation with BRI countries in clean energy industry.

Thirdly, the Belt and Road Initiative can help push global energy interconnection. In September 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping at UN Sustainable Development Summit proposed to establish a global energy network to facilitate efforts to meet the global power demand with clean and green alternatives. Technically speaking, an interconnected power network is the most possible sector to make a breakthrough. Succeeded, it will increase the energy efficiency and economic efficiency to the most, bringing along many strategic emerging industries.

Cui Shoujun is the Research Fellow of National Academy of Development and Strategy, RUC.

Original link: http://m.haiwainet.cn/middle/3542937/2018/1204/content_31451804_1.html?from=singlemessage&isappinstalled=0