China changes tune on coal with divestment pledge
President Xi Jinping has pledged that China will stop building coal-fired power plants overseas, which could reportedly cut tens of billions of fossil fuel investment.
In a pre-recorded message at the United Nations General Assembly yesterday, Jinping said that the country would also help developing nations in building greener energy infrastructure.
The move could see some $50bn directed away from fossil fuel investment chains, according to Reuters.
China, with Beijing as the largest source of financing for coal power plants globally, has been on the receiving end of global pressure to end its financing of overseas fossil fuel projects.
While Jinping spared details on when or how the policy will be implemented, it follows similar moves by South Korea and Japan earlier this year.
“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 president said.
In the speech, Jinping repeated last year’s announced commitments which would see China achieve a peak in CO2 emissions before 2030 and carbon neutrality before 2060.
As the world’s largest emitter, which currently runs 44 coal projects, it marks a positive change in tune on fossil fuels, ahead of the UK’s hosting of COP26 in November.