China continues to finance coal abroad

This coal-fired power plant, co-financed by China, in Patuakhali, Bangladesh, was commissioned in March. There are still new construction projects – contrary to Xi’s promises at the UN.

When China’s President Xi Jinping announced a halt to the construction of new coal projects abroad at the UN General Assembly in September 2021, the global community breathed a sigh of relief. A year later, loopholes begin to show: even today, new coal-fired power plants are built with Chinese help. Nevertheless, the announcement remains a positive signal for climate policy.

The announcement in New York was considered a milestone in climate protection: „China will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad“ – that was Xi Jinping’s promise at the last UN General Assembly. Until then, the People’s Republic had been the last major state donor for coal projects. Between 2000 and 2019, China’s biggest development banks injected nearly $52 billion into 66 coal-fired power plants abroad after Western development banks gradually exited the business (China. Table reported).

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