Zambian expert urges Africa-China renewable energy cooperation to tackle climate change

LUSAKA - Africa and other developing countries should focus their attention on tackling climate change by partnering with China in developing renewable energy sources, a Zambian expert has said. Frederick Mutesa, a development expert and a former lecturer in the Department of Development Studies at the University of Zambia, said on Monday China has demonstrated its commitment to promoting sustainable development policies that mitigate the challenges of climate change. "We can cooperate with them in terms of developing renewable energy sources, particularly solar and other types of renewable energy through development cooperation," he said in an interview with Xinhua on the occasion of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27). Mutesa, who is the Secretary-General of the Zambia-China Friendship Association, also said that countries contributing more to global pollution should contribute more by helping countries that have no adequate finances to tackle the negative effects of climate change through financial assistance and technology. According to him, the measures that were being proposed for transitioning from fossil-based energy to clean energy come with a cost in terms of financial resources and technology, a situation developing countries can not afford. He said developing countries are the most affected by the negative effects of climate change despite being the smallest contributors to pollution, and have the least resources to adapt to and mitigate the challenges of climate change.