4. SDG 7 Affordable and Clean Energy

Target: SDG 7.1 By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services.

SDG 7.2 By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix.

SDG 7.a By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology.

China is the largest developing country in the world. The Chinese Foreign Minister has insisted on the first visit to Africa, the continent with the largest concentration of developing countries, at the beginning of each year for more than 30 consecutive years, which reflects the deep reality of cooperation and political foundation between China and Africa. Since the 1950s, China has been assisting Africa, providing maximum support to African countries in their struggle for national independence and economic development. Since the 1980s, with the principle of equality and mutual benefit, China-Africa relations have entered a new stage of comprehensive cooperation. In the new era, China adheres to the new concept of “truthfulness, realism, affinity and sincerity” in its cooperation with Africa, and has been strengthening cooperation with African countries under the “Belt and Road” cooperation to promote green development in Africa. Energy is the lifeblood of economic development, and solar energy is the most important renewable energy. China has become the world’s largest country for solar energy production and installation for over 10 consecutive years, and has formulated a more complete policy system and industrial chain. The global share of solar photovoltaic production rose from 39% in 2008 to 78% in 2022. Africa is rich in solar energy resources, with more than 85% of the area having an annual solar radiation of 2,000 kW·h/m². According to the analysis of Statista, Africa has the largest potential for solar power generation in the world, with a long-term power generation capacity of more than 4.5 kW·h/kWp per day. The use of solar energy can help to alleviate the tense situation of electricity in African countries, achieve complementary advantages in China-Africa cooperation, and accelerate the realization of energy accessibility and transformation.

The solar energy sector is a priority point for China-Africa cooperation. China has been carrying out cooperation in investment and financing, product export, project construction, technical cooperation, personnel training, planning and livelihood improvement. Based on the improvement of indicators such as the electricity supply ratio, the total installed capacity of solar power, and the per capita installed capacity in Africa in 2022, the effectiveness of China-Africa cooperation in the solar energy field was assessed through a combination of qualitative and quantitative analytical methods.

Under the global development and joint construction of the BRI, China has established a multi-level green cooperation system with Africa through South-South cooperation, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and other frameworks and mechanisms to jointly promote the development and utilization of solar energy in Africa. The GDI and the joint construction of the BRI have made green energy a key area of cooperation between China and Africa. China has organized a ministerial meeting of the Group of Friends of the Global Development Initiative, in which climate change and green development cooperation in 19 African countries were included in the first batch of projects. In the context of the BRI, a China-African Union energy partnership has been established. Relying on the FOCAC and other mechanisms, China and Africa have formulated and released policy documents such as the Program for China-Africa Cooperation in Economic and Social Development, the China-Africa Cooperation Vision 2035, the FOCAC Dakar Action Plan (2022–2024), and the Declaration on China-Africa Cooperation on Combating Climate Change (Zhang and Sun 2023). Green energy cooperation is a key focus of China’s “Ten Cooperation Programs”, “Eight Actions” and “Nine Projects” in support of Africa. According to the AFSIA, by the end of 2022, 30 countries had added more than 1 MW of solar energy, 16 countries had installed more than 10 MW, and 2 countries had added more than 100 MW. China-Africa cooperation projects on solar energy utilization cover the whole African continent (Fig. 4.1). Solar energy is the fastest-growing type of renewable energy in Africa from 2015 to 2022, with the installed capacity increasing from 2,242 MW to 12,641 MW at an average annual growth rate of 28.03% (Figs. 4.2 and 4.3) (IRENA 2023a).

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China-Africa international cooperation has effectively utilized Africa’s abundant solar energy resources, effectively alleviated the problem of energy shortage, and enhanced energy accessibility in many African countries. IRENA statistics show that Africa’s solar energy contains as much as 155,000 trillion-170,000 trillion Wh of electricity resources per year, but Africa’s energy shortage is so serious. In 2010, the installed capacity of solar energy in sub-Saharan countries was only 40 MW, and over 600 million people in Africa lived in an environment without electricity. China’s solar energy dominates the world, with a full industrial chain. Silicon wafers and PV module production have ranked first in the world for 12 and 15 consecutive years, accounting for 90% and more than 80% of the world respectively. China-Africa cooperation enables the joint development of African solar energy resources and further promotes solar energy utilization in Africa. The top 5 countries with installed capacity of PV power generation in 2022 included Angola (284 MW), South Africa (111.8 MW), Egypt (80 MW), Ghana (71.3 MW) and Mozambique (41.9 MW). From 2015 to 2022, China provided Africa with USD 5.531 billion of solar products (including 618,600 solar water heaters), with an average annual growth rate of 19.67% (Fig. 4.4). of this to tal, China exported 3.4 GW PV modules to Africa in 2022, a 36% year-on-year increase. China is the main provider of solar products in Africa, effectively supporting the development and utilization of solar energy resources in Africa.

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China has actively cooperated with African countries to promote the utilization of solar energy through the provision of advice, financing support, project cooperation, product supply and capacity building, thus further promoting the development and utilization of solar energy in Africa and assisting Africa in realizing its energy transition. In 2021, Africa’s investment in solar energy accounted for 65% of all renewable energy investments. The financial institutions in China have implemented Green Investment Principles for the BRI, have provided green development financing for Africa through the Silk Road Fund and other financial instruments, and have implemented hundreds of clean energy and green development cooperation projects. Chinese enterprises have built a number of solar projects through various investment and construction modes. For example, Chinese enterprises have invested in solar module factories in Cape Town; financed and constructed the largest 50 MW PV station in Garissa, Kenya, in the East African region; participated in the financing and construction of the 186 MW PV project of the Benban Photovoltaic Industrial Park in Egypt; financed, designed and built the Noor II and III solar thermal power plants in Morocco, which are the largest solar thermal power plants in the world; constructed the first PV power plant (15 MW) in Central African Republic; and supplied high-efficiency solar modules to the largest PV power station in Africa, the 233 MW PV plant in Algeria. In particular, China’s traditional power plant infrastructure construction force in Africa has shifted to a green construction force after the country announced no new offshore coal power projects in 2021. 949 MW of new PV capacity was installed on the African continent in 2022, a 14% year-on-year increase compared to 833 MW in 2021. By 2021, the cumulative installed capacity of PV power plants built by Chinese enterprises in cooperation with Africa had exceeded 1.5 GW.

China has strengthened Africa’s capacity for independent development and enhanced its capacity for sustainable development through scientific and technological cooperation, personnel training and planning. China’s solar energy technology innovation leads the world, and China’s PV industry has set the world record 14 times for crystalline silicon cell laboratory conversion efficiency in 2022. China has advanced technology transfer through the joint construction of technology platforms, and has enhanced the capability of solar energy utilization in Africa. For example, by relying on the China-Africa Environmental Cooperation Center, China promoted the “China-Africa Green Innovation Program”; China and Egypt jointly constructed the “China-Egypt National Joint Laboratory on Renewable Energy” project; China set up the “China-South Africa Joint Research Center of Clean Energy” in South Africa; China and Kenya jointly implemented an international scientific and technological cooperation project on the utilization of solar energy; and Chinese enterprises provided “intelligent PV” to Africa and implemented “integrated photovoltaic and storage” new energy solutions in South Africa. In addition to providing solar products and technologies, China has also been training skilled personnel for Africa and enhancing their ability of solar energy utilization. For example, through the “Green Silk Road Envoy Program”, China has trained green talents for Africa, and has opened solar energy courses in more than 10 “Luban Workshops” in Africa. In foreign aid training, the number of African trainers coming to China for solar energy utilization assistance accounted for about 50% of the total number (Fig. 4.5). China has utilized its own experience in energy transition and development to assist African countries in carrying out solar energy layout and planning. For example, China helped Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia to prepare plans for solar energy application, thereby upgrading Africa’s capacity for solar energy development.

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The “small but beautiful” projects in China-Africa solar energy cooperation focus on people’s livelihoods, and contribute to the realization of SDGs by increasing jobs, and improving the education, healthcare and living environment of African residents. From 2010 to 2022, the global weighted average levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of PV declined from 0.445 USD/kW·h to 0.049 USD/kW·h, a decrease of 89%, which was already lower than the price of fossil energy (IRENA 2023b). This significant decrease is due in large part to the contribution of China, which has enabled more and more African countries to install and operate PV systems. According to Fig. 4.1, it can be seen that there were differences in the electricity supply ratio and per capita installed capacity of solar power across African countries in 2022. Although countries in the North Africa and Southern African regions do not have high rates of access to electricity, the amount of installed solar energy has effectively increased the watts per capita in most parts of Africa. The WB reports that more than 3,000 mini-grids had been installed in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2022, making it the largest market in the world. In industrial parks, mines, farms and remote areas where the grid is unstable or electricity costs are high, Chinese enterprises provide microgrid PV technology to realize power supply, and affordable household solar products to families in remote areas. Over 95% of the products certified by the WB’s Lighting the World program are made in China. In terms of employment, it is estimated that the installation of each megawatt of solar PV system can create 12 jobs. Chinese enterprises build, operate and maintain PV power plants in Africa, employing local staff and boosting local employment. For example, Chinese enterprises provided about 5,000 local jobs during the construction of a PV power generation project in the Benban Photovoltaic Industrial Park in Egypt; and they also provided employment for about 700 people during the construction of the Sakai solar photovoltaic power plant in the Central African Republic in Central Africa. From 2015 to 2022, China donated 53,494 PV products to Africa and 950 sets of solar water heaters (Fig. 4.6). These products are widely used in water pumping, street lighting, power supply for telecommunication towers, rural schools, and clinics, effectively improving local healthcare, education, irrigation, and other infrastructure.

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Target: SDG 7.a By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology.

SDG 7.b By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States and landlocked developing countries, in accordance with their respective programmes of support.

China’s overseas parks play a critical role in boosting the development of China’s overseas markets and the construction of global value chains, and reflect how the green BRI is conducted in the real world, considering that they tend to be energy-intensive areas with a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions lock-in effect for a long service lifetime. Different from the “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality” practice of domestic parks in China, the low-carbon development of China’s overseas parks is just starting up. Guidelines and indicator-system policies for low-carbon development targeting China’s overseas parks have not yet been established. In addition, for the 201 China’s overseas parks commonly mentioned in public or media reports, there is no research that systematically analyzes their low-carbon performance, which makes an incomplete picture of the state of play, and hinders the formulation and promulgation of relevant policies.

China’s overseas parks are widely distributed geographically (Fig. 4.7), with different development stages, natural resource endowments and industrial categories, resulting in an uneven pattern of low-carbon development. Therefore, literature review and consultant interviews are conducted to summarize the existing low-carbon index system (Tian et al. 2018; Institute for Sustainable Communities 2012) for domestic parks and form on index pool with candidate indicators. We invited preeminent academics in this field to score the candidate indicators by holding seminars, and systematically identified 17 indicators to form the low-carbon development index (LCDI), covering: (1) low-carbon economy; (2) energy use; (3) resource use; (4) low-carbon facilities; and (5) low-carbon management (Fig. 4.8). Applying LCDI, this case study conducts a comparative assessment with 60 overseas parks, and aims to identify the development level and strengths the weaknesses of Chinese overseas parks in global parks by benchmarking global advanced parks.

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Comparing the LCDI of 2013 and 2019, the average score increased from 61.5 to 70.5, up by 14.6% (Fig. 4.9).

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In terms of low-carbon economic development, the annual average output value growth rate of overseas parks has maintained a high-speed growth trend. Some overseas parks have taken the initiative to undergo strategic transformation, continuously selecting green, low-carbon, and distinctive projects for cultivation, such as clean energy equipment manufacturing, waste incineration power generation, and seawater desalination. By 2019, the average proportion of low-carbon industries in overseas parks had reached about 13%, and the land utilization rate improved significantly compared to 2013, with an average unit construction land output of 0.148 million USD/m², which basically reached the advanced level of developed countries. The overseas parks have made extremely important contributions to promoting local economic development, driving local employment and tax growth, and advancing the industrialization process.

In terms of energy consumption and carbon emissions, the main types of energy consumption in verseas parks are electricity, raw coal, and natural gas. Due to the different leading industries of overseas parks, there are significant differences in the total energy consumption. The processing and manufacturing parks and resource utilization parks with high energy consumption industries such as steel, cement, petrochemicals, non-ferrous metals, building materials, and electricity have relatively high energy consumption, while the diversified comprehensive parks and commercial logistics parks with service industry have lower energy consumption. By 2019, the technology and capability enhancement measures taken by overseas parks and enterprises had significantly improved the technology and energy efficiency level of the host country, and the energy intensity and carbon emissions intensity of overseas parks had decreased year by year, with the average energy intensity at 1.21 tons of standard coal per USD 10,000, which was about 50% to 60% lower than the local average level and basically reached the advanced level of developed countries. At the same time, some overseas parks have actively carried out clean energy substitution and transformation to increase the proportion of renewable energy utilization. For example, the Ethiopia-Hunan Industrial Park uses 100% of the clean electricity provided by the largest wind power project in Africa—the Adama Wind Farm II in Ethiopia, and the Qilu (Cambodia) Special Economic Zone’s biomass cogeneration project provides 80% of the park’s electricity needs.

In terms of resource utilization, the measures for resource recycling in overseas parks mainly focus on reclaimed water reuse, comprehensive utilization of solid waste, and waste gas resource recovery, with 26.7%, 25.0%, and 10.0% of overseas parks taking relevant measures respectively. For example, the Liaoshen Industrial Park in Uganda recycles rainwater from sidewalks, roads, and building roofs for toilet flushing, road cleaning and green irrigation, significantly improving the efficiency of reclaimed water reuse within the park. The Djibouti International Free Trade Zone includes the generation, storage, utilization, and disposal of hazardous waste by enterprises entering the park in the supervision process, and provides solutions for toxic waste treatment for enterprises. The Uganda-China (Guangdong) Free Zone of International Industrial Park has achieved the recycling of wastewater, solid waste, waste heat, and various gases in the park through the linkage of upstream and downstream industrial chains. For example, tailings are used for brick making, and concentrates are used as fertilizer. However, we also need to recognize that most overseas parks did not consider the demand for resource recycling during the early planning, construction, and operation stages, resulting in low resource utilization efficiency. Therefore, it is urgent to accelerate the circular transformation of these parks.

In terms of low-carbon infrastructure, the performance of low-carbon infrastructure indicators is the best, with the highest average contribution rate to the LCDI of overseas parks. It is the core area where outstanding progress has been made in the low-carbon development of overseas parks. At present, average green coverage is around 30%, and the completion rates of centralized sewage treatment facilities and infrastructure are both around 60%. Some overseas parks have taken the lead in integrating green building and smart transportation concepts into park construction, creating a number of benchmark projects for overseas parks, and laying a solid foundation for the low-carbon transformation of the parks. For example, the SBIRD Innovation Base of the China Belgium Technology and Science Park has passed the building research establishment environmental assessment method (BREEAM) of the British Institute of Architecture and obtained a “very good” level certification. The Great Stone Industrial Park has promoted low-carbon travel and provided a public bicycle or charging station service system, laying a solid foundation for its energy transformation.

In terms of low-carbon operation and management, low-carbon operation and management in overseas parks are still weak areas, but some parks have carried out green and low-carbon management and practice and achieved initial results. Some parks have implemented green and low-carbon management and practices, such as setting up specialized departments to promote low-carbon work, establishing environmental management systems, and incorporating low-carbon concepts into their planning and design, thus ensuring the feasibility of low-carbon implementation from the source. In addition, some parks have provided the latest interpretation of environmental policies for enterprises and fully utilized expert resources in green and low-carbon to provide guidance for park enterprises, and have optimized the industrial structure by raising the entry threshold for the park and prioritizing the introduction of environmentally friendly enterprises.

The national-level overseas parks are outstanding in terms of progressiveness and demonstration effect. Their low-carbon development level is 7.2% and 2.6% higher than provincial Overseas parks and other types of overseas parks (Fig. 4.10).

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Regional differences and the economic development status of host countries significantly impact the low-carbon level of overseas parks. Overseas parks located in Europe (LCDI = 73.2) and Southeast Asia (LCDI = 68.7) have significantly higher levels of green and low-carbon development than those located in Central Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and Africa (Fig. 4.11).

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The main industries in the processing and manufacturing parks and resource utilization parks are high-energy-consuming industries, such as steel, petrochemicals, mining and smelting, and non-ferrous metal smelting, with LCDIs ranging from 64.4 to 84.8. Their green and low-carbon development mainly focuses on two aspects: industrial low-carbonization and energy low-carbonization.

Processing and manufacturing parks with concentrated light industry have great potential for low-carbon development, but due to their low industrial interdependence and insufficient comprehensive utilization of energy and resources, their LCDIs range from 51.6 to 79.2. In the future, these parks need to promote coordinated development in industries, energy resources, infrastructure, and low-carbon management, and take multiple measures to promote low-carbon development in the parks.

The technology research and development parks have a solid industrial foundation and relatively low-carbon emission intensity. Their low-carbon development focuses on low-carbon energy, infrastructure, and low-carbon management. However, the space for reducing carbon emissions in agricultural development, commercial and logistics, and diversified comprehensive parks is limited. Therefore, energy and infrastructure low-carbonization are the focus of low-carbon development in these parks (Fig. 4.12).

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Global advanced parks have achieved fruitful results in promoting green, low-carbon, and circular development, and are an important reference standard for the low-carbon development of China’s overseas parks. By comparing with the benchmark values of advanced parks worldwide, it can be seen that the development trend of China’s overseas parks is improving. However, in some areas, the low-carbon transformation efforts are limited, and the average value of 11 indicators is less than 50% of the benchmark value, which is a certain gap from the global advanced value. There is huge enhanced space for improvement in low-carbon development in the future (Fig. 4.13).

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In general, China’s overseas parks are widely distributed geographically, with different development stages, natural resource endowments and industrial categories, resulting in an uneven pattern of low-carbon development. Lack of awareness, insufficient capacity building, limited green development conditions and financial support are the key obstacles that restrict their low-carbon performance improvement.

Firstly, overseas parks do not place enough emphasis on low-carbon development. Parks and enterprises mainly focus on economic growth and short-term profitability, lacking long-term planning for low-carbon development. China and the host country have not yet issued an overall plan and implementation rules for low-carbon development in parks. It is necessary to further improve the target management, guideline, progress evaluation, and assessment supervision of low-carbon development performance in overseas parks.

Secondly, overseas parks lack sufficient capacity building in low-carbon development. The understanding of concepts such as low-carbon, environmental protection, energy efficiency improvement, and circular economy among park managers, operators, and enterprises entering the park is still relatively vague. It is difficult to obtain and identify green, low-carbon technologies in key areas, and there are many obstacles to project implementation.

Thirdly, there is a lack of low-carbon development conditions in overseas parks. The energy resource infrastructure and transportation facilities in the area where the park is located are important factors determining the level of green and low-carbon development. At present, more than half of the overseas parks are located in areas with outdated power infrastructure; there are also many problems, such as unstable power supply, aging power equipment, and severe overload operation, which seriously affect the efficiency of equipment operation and energy utilization. At the same time, it also leads to the main reliance on fossil fuels for energy supply.

Fourthly, the insufficient scale of green and low-carbon investment and financing difficulty in overseas parks need to be improved. The incomplete diversification of green financial products and services makes it difficult for parks and enterprises to obtain financing from the capital market, and thus leads to a shortage of funds when implementing green and low-carbon projects in parks.