China pledge to stop funding coal projects ‘buys time for emissions target’

(The Guardian, 22 Sep 2021) China was lender of last resort for overseas governments seeking finance for coal projects.

Xi Jinping’s announcement that China will stop funding overseas coal projects could buy the world about three more months in the race to keep global heating to a relatively safe level of 1.5C, experts say.

Although the impact will depend on implementation, China’s declaration should also help to kill off coal, which has been humanity’s primary power source for most of the last 200 years.

Ending Chinese coal financing has long been near the top of climate activists’ wishlists. For more than a decade, China has been the lender of last resort for overseas governments seeking finance for thermal power plants. That role has accelerated since the 2013 start of the country’s belt and road initiative(BRI).

Xi’s declaration is likely to affect at least 54 gigawatts of China-backed coal power projects, which are in active development but not yet under construction, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

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The Guardian, 22 Sep 2021: China pledge to stop funding coal projects ‘buys time for emissions target’