Africa Was the Biggest Loser of China’s COP30 Triumph

Africa Was the Biggest Loser of China’s COP30 Triumph

Decisions about the continent’s future are being made in foreign capitals.

An employee of the Jiuxing Chinese mining company stands at a mining site on Oct. 7, 2016 in Soamahamanina, Madagascar. December 4, 2025, 1:19 PM Comment icon View Comments ( )

COP30 stumbled to a close with a voluntary pledge so weak that it practically invites abuse. But the biggest losers were not the absent United States or the wavering European Union. They were the African countries whose climate future is increasingly shaped by decisions made far beyond their borders, whether that’s in Washington or Beijing.

Right now, it’s China’s grip on Africa’s future that matters most. While the world focused on a voluntary pledge that avoided even nam