China, Antigua and Barbuda sign MOU addressing climate change

China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) on Monday released details about the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on South-South cooperation material assistance project for climate change, which was signed by China and Antigua and Barbuda on January 24 in Beijing.

China's Minister of Ecology and Environment Huang Runqiu, and Molwyn Joseph, minister of Health, Wellness and the Environment of Antigua and Barbuda, signed the MOU in Beijing. According to the agreement, China will provide Antigua and Barbuda with 200 sets of 3-kilowatt household-used photovoltaic power generation systems and 1,500 sets of 60-watt solar street lights to help improve their capacity to cope with climate change, according to the MEE.

The project will help small island countries enhance their capacity to cope with climate change, which has been included as an important achievement of the visit of Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne to China.

Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda Gaston Browne paid an official visit to China from January 22 to 28.

As a responsible developing country, China has always been an active advocate and pragmatic practitioner of South-South cooperation in addressing climate change. China continues to support other developing countries, especially small island countries, least developed countries, and African countries, in dealing with climate change through cooperation in building low-carbon demonstration zones, conducting capacity-building training and other sectors, said the ministry.

So far China has signed 50 MOU on cooperation with 41 developing countries. It has organized 58 training sessions on South-South cooperation in addressing climate change, training more than 2,400 professionals in the field, according to the ministry.

Government ministers and senior officials from Botswana, Laos, Ghana and a number of other countries highlighted the importance of South-South cooperation in addressing climate change in December 2023. Speaking at a side event held at the China Pavilion of the COP28 climate conference, the senior officials stressed the urgency of taking cooperative measures to cope with climate change and emphasized China's leading role.