The Great Significance and Broad Prospects of China-CEEC Renewable Energy Cooperation
Yuanping Yu
Abstract
Since the adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, China and the EU have undertaken progressive collaboration on energy transition and environmental protection, with commitments to become carbon neutral by 2060 and 2050, respectively. However, due to the sudden outbreak of the pandemic, the ongoing military conflict between Russia and Ukraine, and the intensifying US-China strategic competition, China and the EU, particularly Central and Eastern European countries, face enormous challenges in making the energy transition and achieving their set climate goals. How China and CEE countries achieve their energy transition and climate goals in the midst of an economic downturn and an energy security crisis will put their national governance capabilities, as well as the resilience and flexibility of policy formulation and implementation, to the ultimate test.
For governments in CEE nations, curbing inflation, restoring the economy, and ensuring energy security are currently pressing matters. Therefore, energy cooperation, particularly renewable energy cooperation, should be prioritized in the China-CEEC cooperation framework in the short and medium term. Against this backdrop, this paper aims to identify the current state and challenges of energy transition in China and the EU, as well as to investigate how China and CEE countries can leverage the China-EU Energy Cooperation Platform and the energy and climate policies of China and the EU to expand and deepen their renewable energy cooperation under the 16+1 cooperation framework.
Key Words: China-CEEC, Renewable Energy Cooperation, Great Significance, Broad Prospects, Energy and Climate Policies.