Xi Jinping declares China will no longer build coal projects overseas

The concession by the world’s largest carbon emitter comes after months of lobbying by the Biden administration.

President Xi Jinping has declared China will no longer build coal projects overseas, a concession by the world’s largest carbon emitter made after months of lobbying by the Biden administration.

But China’s leader did not did not announce the end of support for coal fire stations domestically, where new coal projects continue to be commissioned at a greater rate than anywhere else in the world.

President Xi, speaking at the opening meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, instead reiterated China’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

“This requires tremendous hard work, and we will make every effort to meet these goals,” Xi said in his speech, which was given over video link.

“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,” he said.

Beijing’s policy shift will make it much harder for poor and middle income countries to develop new coal power stations. It follows earlier commitments to not support overseas coal stations made by South Korea and Japan.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden.

Simon Nicholas, an analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis, said Xi’s announcement removed the developing world’s “lender of last resort for coal-fired power proposals”.

Research by the IEEFA in July found more than half of the world’s pipeline of coal power projects were being supported by China.

“Once the current under construction projects finish, that’s pretty much it. It’s very hard to find a path forward for any further projects beyond that,” he told The Australian.

Li Shou, senior climate and energy policy officer at Greenpeace China, said there was a “long list of questions” about the new policy.

“Whether this applies to the public banks in China? How do you define what is public and what is state backed in the Chinese context? Will this be immediately enforced?”

He said Beijing would likely send “signals” in the coming weeks to clarify the change.

China has come under pressure from the US, Europe and environmental groups over its support of the coal power stations ahead of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow (COP26) in November.

US climate envoy John Kerry, who has visited China twice this year, made coal the main topic of his meetings with officials in China earlier this month.

Mr Kerry welcomed Xi’s commitment: “We’ve been talking to China for quite some period of time about this. And I’m absolutely delighted to hear that President Xi has made this important decision.”

Australia’s Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor said it was crucial for the developed world to help the developing world reduce emissions with “practical” and “affordable” solutions.

“When it comes to emissions, ambition is important but ultimately it is outcomes that matter,” Minister Taylor told The Australian in a statement.

Many analysts said Xi’s announcement was undercut by Beijing’s ongoing support for its domestic coal industry.

Smoke belches from a coal-fuelled power station near Datong, in China's northern Shanxi province.

“The hard truth is China had to bring more to the table ahead of COP26 to avoid being painted the villain,” said Thom Woodroofe, an expert on US-China climate co-operation at the Asia Society Policy Institute.

“Until China is prepared to draw a similar line in the sand on its construction of coal-fired power at home, it is unlikely to be met with the fanfare Beijing might hope,” Woodroofe said.

Coal remains the largest component of China’s energy mix.

Research by Greenpeace East Asia released in August found China’s provincial governments approved the construction of 24 new coal power projects in the first half of 2021.

A survey by the Global Energy Monitor found that last year China commissioned 76 per cent of the world’s new coal plants in 2020, up from 64 per cent in 2019.

Just over half of the world’s entire coal power production is in China. Xi’s government has pledged to reduce coal use from 2026.