Chinese leader Xi Jinping announced at the United Nations that his country will no longer fund coal investments in other countries. “China It will increase support for other developing countries regarding the development of green and low carbon energy and will not build new coal-based energy projects abroad “- he said. This sentence is very important because it means that pieni ± dze For this type of investment, it would be very difficult to find it now.
China will stop financing coal abroad
The Beijing announcement made John Kerry very happy – he is the man responsible for climate issues in the Joe Biden administration. “We have talked with China about this for a long time. I am very happy to hear that President Xi has made this important decision,” the commentary excerpted from the US politician’s statement.
This is a reminder that the Chinese did not make this decision that way, there has been pressure from the international community on this issue for a long time. Especially since earlier this year, Japan and South Korea made a similar announcement (although it left the door to private companies). Why is it important? It is enough to take a look at the graph below, which shows the participation of individual countries in financing foreign coal projects. In 2018, only the three countries mentioned were a significant player:
“China They were the “last survivors” [ang. last man standing]. If there is no public funding coal By China, the global expansion of this sector is little or no” – he says, citing Reuters, Justin Guay, director of climate strategy at the Sunrise Project, an international initiative that advocates for a global shift away from coal and fossil fuels.
In recent years, and especially since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (the “new” Silk Road), China has acted as a lender of last resort to governments that, for example, wanted to build coal-fired power plants in their countries required external financing, but did not have enough funds to do so. , Of course, China would not have taken this step if it had not come to fruition, and Xi Jinping himself has clearly stated that he plans to enter more “green” foreign investment.
Ad without details
The announcement of the Chinese leader, despite its importance and its reception as such by commentators, remains so far only an announcement. In addition, we do not know any details. It is not known when the announcement will enter into force, whether it comes to exit from projects that are still in the planning stage or perhaps Chinese Banky Energy companies will abandon more advanced investments. as he remembers “Watchman”This year alone, the Chinese footprint has appeared in 10 new coal-fired power plant projects, includingin a. in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Indonesia and Vietnam. And the Asian countries, with the exception of those mentioned in the previous sentence, are also Bangladesh and Pakistan, which have so far relied heavily on funding from Beijing. You can still look for funds from private lenders, but firstly, it can be difficult, and secondly, it is expensive financing.
It is also unclear whether China’s promise is only about clean finance or about construction as well, or if it will only include public players in other countries or private companies as well. However, it is a step in the right direction, points out Li Shu of Greenpeace China. The Belt and Road Initiative [ang. skrót BRI] She had already gone through her hectic early years when quantity reigned supreme. The quality of this project is now a priority. Foreign coal projects have already been completed [przez Chiny] Limited in recent years ”- wrote in a comment on Twitter.
In his opinion, now is the time for China to strengthen its domestic climate policy. Xi Jinping promised last year that his country would peak in carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and be carbon neutral by 2060. However, if we really want to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial era (and we’ve done “Already one step out of this increase), further action is needed, both from China and from anyone else.
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