China, Europe and the Geopolitics of African Renewable Energy

The China Africa Project

Both China and the European Union have identified renewable energy as a key part of their engagement strategies with Africa. At FOCAC last year, the Chinese vowed to increase investment in solar, hydro, and other green technologies while the EU made sustainability a centerpiece of its new Global Gateway development initiative. With both sides pursuing similar objectives, it's not surprising renewable energy is now being seen as yet another front in the larger great power rivalry dynamic with African countries stuck in the middle. But a trio of authors at the European Center for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), a Brussels-based think tank, argues in a new report that it would be a huge mistake for EU leaders to frame green energy transition initiatives in Africa in competition with China. One of the authors of that report, Alfsono Medinilla, ECDPM's Head of Climate and Green Transition, joins Eric & Cobus to explain why. JOIN THE DISCUSSION: CAP on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ChinaAfricaProject Twitter: @ChinaAfrProject | @stadenesque | @amedinil | @ecdpm JOIN US ON PATREON! Become a CAP Patreon member and get all sorts of cool stuff including our Week in Review report, invitation to join monthly Zoom calls with Eric & Cobus, and even an awesome new CAP Podcast mug! www.patreon.com/chinaafricaproject