BELEM, Brazil, Nov. 19– The acceleration of energy transition offers the Global South a strategic opportunity to attract investment, develop industries and strengthen markets, experts said on Tuesday.
During the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Brazil’s northern city of Belem, a panel of experts organized by the state-run Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) noted that accelerating energy transition is a central theme of the climate change gathering.
The FAPESP, a major funder of academic and scientific research in Brazil, said specialists from countries such as Brazil, China and India agreed that developing countries already have experience in clean energy development, which offers opportunities to boost economic growth.
Professor Wang Pu from the Institute of Science and Development under the Chinese Academy of Sciences argued that developing countries “best understand the challenges” as they address climate, environmental and development issues.
China has provided a prime example of how the Global South can leverage energy transition to expand industries, while the progress of China’s electric vehicle industry has proven this well, he said.
Wang stressed that it was essential to “support each other by sharing the best available knowledge, technologies and solutions.”
Thiago Barral, Brazil’s former National Secretary of Energy Transition and Planning under the Ministry of Mines and Energy, echoed that strengthening South-South cooperation is crucial to addressing the challenges.
Meanwhile, Dipak Dasgupta from India’s Energy and Resources Institute, said one of the main shared challenges was modernizing high-voltage power grids, indispensable for integrating solar and wind energy with minimal losses.
Dasgupta also emphasized the need to create specific climate finance instruments and to reorganize financial institutions to channel strategic resources to renewable energy projects in developing countries. (Namibia Daily News/Xinhua)
