China

As the first emitter of CO2, China has promised, under the Paris Climate Agreement, to reach the emission peak of CO2 by 2030 and to be carbon neutral by 2060. In order to help accelerate this transition, our actions focus on financing pilot projects, on innovative segments, renewable energy and energy efficiency, to promote carbon-free growth. 

We support the creation and restoration of heating networks, enabling significant energy savings especially through the adoption of innovative and state-of-the-art technology solutions :

• support for the construction of a biomass cogeneration plant in Yichun (Heilongjiang Province)

• construction of decentralized geothermal systems to recover the heat of treated waste water from two sewage treatment plants to supply collective heating for two districts of Jinan (Shandong Province).

AFD also supports the establishment of a food waste management and recovery system in the city of Shaoyang (Hunan Province). Since 2007, AFD is also working with Chinese banking institutions through green credit lines to finance green investments, including renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

Since the beginning of our activities in China in 2004, one third of the projects have been dedicated to the promotion of climate change resilient cities and low-carbon sustainable urban development. AFD strives to mitigate the negative effect of urbanization and to improve the use and management of water resources. We fund several waste water treatment and drinking water production projects, using energy saving technologies, and providing advanced processing technology and high-quality services, as well as a sponge city pilot project in a district of Mianyang (Sichuan Province).

AFD is also financing a project to protect and restore the historic center of the Qixian district (Shanxi province) which has a significant heritage, along with the renovation of urban infrastructure.

The portfolio of biodiversity projects in China is currently the largest for AFD in this sector. We finance programs for sustainable development and ecological transition of the territories enabling the development and protection of ecosystem and natural resources with a view to sustainable management of global public goods. AFD supports the development of several wetland restoration projects in Liaoning and Hunan, and reforestation in Yunnan and Anhui.

AFD also stands by Xianju district (Zhejiang Province) in the implementation of a pilot project as part of national parks reform in China to protect, restore and develop the exceptional natural and cultural heritage of Xianju, notably through a partnership with the Ballons des Vosges Regional Nature Park in France.
 
 

As a major international investor, China is playing an increasingly important role in international development funding. The amount of its funding will be decisive in achieving the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS). The achievement of co-financing with Chinese stakeholders in third countries aims to promote international standards in environmental and social issues, in governance, contracting and funding sustainability.

China is committed to a long-term low-carbon strategy. The dialogue initiated with Chinese authorities relates in particular to the energy transition and the implementation of a national greenhouse gas emission contract through partnerships and cooperation with the institutions such as the International Energy Agency (IEA). AFD is also pursuing its dialogue with the academic world, think tanks, banks and regulatory authorities on financial climate risk management, while supporting the transformation of financial stakeholders' practices. 

China is a Megadiverse country, and its biodiversity crisis needs strong policy guidance. AFD Group supports the country through projects in the ecological transition sector and participates in France-China bilateral dialogue and institutional exchanges on biodiversity. It also contributes, at its level, to the preparation of COP14 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (Kunming, 2021).