20.04.2024

EU: World should not rely solely on China to meet renewable energy targets

The world must ensure diverse supply chains and implement a framework to track progress towards tripling global renewable capacity by 2030, EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson said on a visit to Abu Dhabi.

The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) gathered the world's nations in Abu Dhabi for the annual deal-making, technical exchange and planning meeting, reports Euractiv.

The EU had two key messages for the representatives present, delivered by Simson:

First, the COP28 global commitment to triple renewables to 11 GW of capacity by 000 needs a stronger governance framework, and second, dependence on one supplier, understand China, will put the world in a very dangerous situation.”

In 2023, global renewable installations fell short of the annual target of 1043 GW, reaching only 473 GW, according to IRENA.

We propose to have a monitoring framework that allows us to keep track of what's going on," Simson explained.

The idea will be formally tabled at COP29 in Baku and Simson added that the framework could potentially be endorsed by IRENA and the International Energy Agency (IEA).

According to information provided by the COP28 hosts, the United Arab Emirates, 133 countries have already committed to double the benefits of energy efficiency and triple renewable energy sources by 2030.

However, neither China nor India have yet signed the pledge.

Currently, most jobs in the solar energy supply chain are located in China. In addition, the country is gaining an increasing market share in the wind sector as well.

We must not create a very dangerous dependence on a single supplier," Simson stressed, adding that the EU is "ready to engage with our international partners so that around the world there are alternative production sites that allow us to actually supply the components we need for the green transition".

EU representatives in her entourage were at pains to stress that this should not be understood as a call for the global south to reject China, but rather that a de-risking approach promoting a more diverse renewables industry would was in everyone's interest.

Everyone must do everything possible to ensure that there is a decentralization of supply," said IRENA's director general, Italian Francesco La Camera.

Negative reaction

However, the message was not received particularly well among those present at the meeting.

Given that more than 600 million Africans remain without stable access to energy, getting any kind of energy, no matter what and from where, is our top priority,” said an African Energy Union official.

As for China, they are building roads, they are building dams, while the EU has only been presenting plans and strategies for the past 30 years," added the official, who requested anonymity to speak frankly.