Changing Energy Habits

Climate change is once again trending after the 22nd Conference of Parties（COP22） to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was successfully held in Marrakech， Morocco in November.

Opening the conference， Moroccos Minister of Foreign Affairs and COP22 President Salaheddine Mezouar commended China for its “strong” and “concrete” commitment to addressing climate change， while also noting Chinas early ratification of the Paris Agreement， and its ongoing support for developing countries in dealing with climate change.

Mezouar also made it clear that all participants should commit to concrete climate initiatives and actions to assist the people in developing countries in the fight against the impacts of climate change， especially those in Africa.

On closer examination， many of the people Mezouar was speaking about live in Sub-Saharan Africa - in fact， according to the International Energy Agency， a total of 635 million of these people， to be specific， live without access to electricity. Shedding light on these figures and the challenges faced on the continent has resulted in much introspection on preservation of natural resources and how best to make the shift to renewable energy to power up Africa. Climate change and renewable energy are intrinsically linked. Its something that has not gone unnoticed by China. Through cooperation of organizations such as the China Renewable Energy Society， and companies like Chinas Poly Solar， producing high-quality off-grid lighting and energy products， the prospects for powering Africas industrialization efforts through green energy do look bright.