Environmental issues no longer appear to be a top priority in the China-Africa dialogue. While there have been a lot of discussions about health, military and media issues in the run-up to next month’s FOCAC summit, there’s been little to no mention of wildlife conservation, pollution or other green-related topics that were once a key focal point.
China’s 2018 decision to outlaw its domestic ivory trade eliminated what once was a highly-charged issue that long defined China-Africa environmental relations. While poaching remains a critical problem in many parts of Africa, it’s no longer a potent diplomatic issue with the Chinese.
Greenpeace East Asia’s Head of Sustainable Finance, Calvin Quek, has been following this trend very closely and joins Eric & Cobus from Beijing to discuss what role green issues will play in next month’s FOCAC summit.
Show Notes:
- The Paulson Institute: Three Questions With Calvin
- TRAFFIC: African urged to develop common position in cooperation negotiations with China
Calvin Quek is head of Greenpeace East Asia’s Sustainable Finance Program and leads its engagement of the financial community. Quek serves on the Board of the China Carbon Forum and was the first Executive Director of the Beijing Energy Network. Prior to joining Greenpeace, he was with Citigroup for close to a decade, where he was with the investment research team in Singapore and led Citigroup Singapore’s CSR & Volunteerism committee in 2008. Calvin has an MBA from Peking University, and an M.Sc. in Wealth Management from Singapore Management University.
Quek is a regular commentator on China’s energy and environmental issues, contributing to the Financial Times and South China Morning Post, and he has appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg, and CCTV, and speaks regularly at investment summits.
