As the United States retreats from global climate financing, China is stepping into the void—pivoting from fossil fuels to renewable energy investments in Africa, a region with skyrocketing energy demand and untapped clean energy potential.
According to a new report from UK-based think tank ODI Global, solar and wind projects now make up 59% of China’s energy investments in Africa, signaling a major shift from Beijing’s long-standing support of fossil fuels on the continent. Between 2010 and 2024, China pumped $66 billion into Africa’s energy sector, accounting for one-fifth of its global energy investment activity.
“Chinese manufacturers dominate global supply chains,” said Elena Kiryakova, lead author of the ODI report, “and they see African markets as critical to addressing domestic overcapacity and competition.”
This shift comes as Africa braces for an unprecedented energy challenge: its population is set to double by 2050, with sub-Saharan Africa alone expected to host a quarter of the world’s people. Already, 600 million people on the continent lack electricity access—a crisis set to deepen unless massive investment in clean energy materializes.
“The region’s energy demand is expected to increase threefold over the next decade,” the report warns.
China’s investment in renewables not only supports Africa’s clean energy ambitions—it’s also good business. China manufactures over 80% of the world’s solar panels, and expanding its export markets in light of ongoing trade tensions with the U.S. is a strategic economic move.
While the Trump administration slashed U.S. global climate funding to zero, China has filled the vacuum. The ODI notes this shift mirrors Beijing’s global pledge in 2021 to stop funding new coal-fired power plants overseas, reinforcing its clean energy commitments both domestically and abroad.
Still, experts caution that despite the surge in project numbers, the monetary value of renewables lags behind China’s historical fossil fuel investments in Africa. Nonetheless, the direction is clear: “African economies represent a smaller, but growing destination for Chinese wind and solar power technology,” Kiryakova said.
As the world pushes to meet its climate goals, China’s strategy in Africa could play a pivotal role in shaping the planet’s energy future.
