China’s President Xi Jinping said during his address at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that the country would stop investing in new coal-fired power plants abroad and will instead help developing nations build green and low-carbon energy. The move came as Beijing faced mounting pressure to end its overseas coal financing and step up measures to slash carbon emissions.
Beijing is the largest financier of coal power projects across the globe. Analysts said that the latest policy would cull around $50 billion of investment earmarked for 44 coal plants in countries like Indonesia, Vietnam, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Serbia, and South Africa. Analysts estimated that if materialised, the plan would potentially cut future CO2 emissions by 200 million tons/year.
Previously, Japan and South Korea also announced their withdrawal from overseas coal power projects. China’s move was welcomed by other countries, but it lacked details. At the same time, China continues expanding its domestic coal power capacity. The country commissioned 38.4 GW of new coal-fired power capacity in 2020 and has another 88.1 GW under construction.
