Presentation
This Study aims to identify and examine concrete options for enhanced coordination and cooperation between China and the EU to scale up the deployment of renewable energy in third countries, building on their respective flagship initiatives, i.e. the Global Gateway and the Belt and Road Initiative. Enhanced EU-China coordination and cooperation have the potential to make their respective investments in renewable energy greater than the sum of their parts and provide a blueprint for enhanced cooperation in other areas such as trade, technology and policies. It also represents an opportunity to build mutual trust between both partners and contribute to a stable international order in the context of current tensions.
Key Messages
- China and the EU have led the rapid surge in renewable energy deployment domestically and have published new Nationally Determined Contributions and renewables targets ahead of COP30 in Brazil. However, despite great progress and an unprecedented surge in solar PVs in particular, the world is not on track to meet the 2030 tripling of renewable energy targets and concerns linked to the economic security of renewables supply chains are rising.
- Investment in clean energy and renewables in developing countries lags well behind those in developed countries and China, with the EU and China having a key role to play in helping these countries deploy renewables at scale, in support of sustainable development and to improve levels of access to energy.
- This can be achieved by China and the EU harnessing their respective toolkits, identifying synergies and using their comparative advantages to add value and create positive outcomes for all participants involved. While China can contribute its large-scale engineering and construction capabilities combined with unique rapidity of execution, the EU can contribute its technology, expertise in market design and in climate-oriented policies. For projects to be bankable, Chinese supply chains aligned on international standards are needed, combined with a necessary shift from ad hoc projects to international partnerships centered around recipient country ownership.
- Areas for enhanced EU-China cooperation include: establishing equitable partnerships with developing countries; developing domestic renewables supply chains, local content and demand certainty; scaling-up climate-aligned finance, including through greater multilateral financing, the use of innovative financial tools and of joint guarantees to de-risk investment in fragile countries; enhancing technological transfer and regional cooperation; developing international technical and ESG standards as well as interconnecting green taxonomies.
