Guest essay by Eric Worrall
The South China Morning Post reports that China is providing clean energy and mass-produced nuclear plant expertise to its Belt and Road partners. But in my opinion, China’s major overseas projects in the past are a cautionary tale, for anyone thinking of accepting Chinese offers.
How China’s clean energy push can help the developing world move away from fossil fuels
As a leader in renewable energy technology, China should help the belt and road and other developing countries achieve their carbon targets, said the senior policymaker.
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Published: 10:00 a.m., November 21, 2021A senior environmental policymaker said China could provide developing countries with a path to transition from fossil fuels to clean energy.
Li Junfeng, founding director of the National Center for Climate change International Cooperation and Strategy (NCSC), said China should not just think about energy conversion but also work with developing countries on their carbon neutrality goals.
Many disruptive energy technologies over the past five decades, such as nuclear power and solar power, have been commercialized in China, Li told an environmental conference in Beijing. on Wednesday.
“So we can set up programs, together with developed countries, to help with their energy transition, including countries in the world. Belt and Road Initiative and South-South cooperation program,” he said.
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In terms of nuclear energy, China is currently the only country capable of mass-producing third-generation reactors. Some of these are already active in the country, including Hualong One. The reactor, at the Fuqing nuclear power plant in southeastern Fujian province, began commercial operation in January.
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After the renewable energy catastrophes in the UK, Europe and Texas, it became pretty clear to everyone but green hardliners that renewables had no future as a primary source of energy. village, except perhaps in very remote areas.
However, before you go overboard with the idea of China supplying cheap nuclear to poor countries, you should review some of China’s past Belt and Road projects, some of Those numbers really stand out as unscrupulous transactions.
A famous example is Revantador Dam, built on the foot of an active volcano in Ecuador. Predictably, the dam was filled and fractured by near-constant earthquakes within a few months of its construction.
How could such a catastrophic project be allowed to proceed? The answer seems to be massive corruption, so many government officials, including high-ranking politicians in Ecuador, have been sent to prison because of this deal. But this does not help Ecuador, which is struggling to pay its huge debt to China. I think it’s fair to say Ecuador now has to do whatever China tells it, or face the consequences of a massive default.
This problem doesn’t seem to be unique to Ecuador. While the Revantador stands out as a glaring disaster, there seem to be many deals with less blatant problems. For example, when I visited Vanuatu in 2019, any conversation with the locals quickly turned to their anger at the alleged corrupt dealings between China and the Vanuatu government, like Vanuatu Convention Center deal. Our taxi driver in Port Vila gave us a tour, pointed at the parliament and said “corrupt house number”, then at the nearby convention center, and said “corrupt house number two “, gives you a fair idea of the local feeling on the matter.
I have no doubt that many poor countries will flock to China’s low-cost nuclear offer, they desperately need affordable electricity, and in my view have been ripped off by their Western suppliers. West was severely disappointed. But if China’s cheap mass-produced nuclear plants are like China’s Revantador dam project, just say I’ll plan my overseas vacations more carefully in the future. future.
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