China: Beijing continues to finance coal • Table.Briefings

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, the loopholes in the promise are becoming apparent: even today, new coal-fired power plants are still being built with Chinese support. Nevertheless, the announcement remains a positive signal for climate policy. And China wants to invest more in renewables abroad in the future.

The announcement in New York was seen as a milestone in climate protection: „China will no longer build any new coal-fired power plants 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 the years 2000 and 2019, China’s major development banks had injected nearly $52 billion into 66 coal-fired power plants abroad after Western development banks gradually exited the business (China.Table reported).

China: Beijing continues to finance coal abroad despite promises

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