Daily US Times: Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced that his country will not build new coal energy projects abroad, a move that could be pivotal in tackling global emissions.
Mr Xi siad this in his address at the United Nations General Assembly.
China has been funding coal projects in countries like Vietnam and Indonesia under a massive infrastructure project known as the Belt and Road initiative.
But Beijing has been under pressure to end the financing of the projects, as the world tries to meet Paris climate agreement targets.
In a video recording at the UNGA, Mr Xi said: “China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad.”
The Chinese president did not give any further details, but the decision could limit the expansion of coal plants in many developing countries under China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).
The BRI has seen China fund roads, ports, trains and coal plants in numerous countries, many of them developing countries. For the first time in several years however, China didn’t fund any coal projects in the first half of 2021.
China is heavily reliant on coal for domestic energy needs and also the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitter.
Mr Xi also reminded his promises made last year about China achieving peak emissions before 2030 and then transitioning to carbon neutrality by 2060.
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