UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Respond to United Nations General Assembly in 2021, the Chinese president Xi Jinping has pledged to stop funding coal-fired power plants overseas in a bid to help curb climate change. Five years later, as the Assembly meets this week, global climate commitments are dangerously off trackand the coal phase-out is progressing.
China has canceled the majority of coal projects it had planned in 2021 so far, according to a new report released this week to align with the General Assembly and Climate Week in New York. This is a small positive point in global efforts to counter climate changewho has caused deadly disasters in Asia in recent months.
But experts have warned that Chinese companies are taking advantage of regulatory loopholes to circumvent Xi’s promise and continue investing in foreign coal.
China is a key financier of infrastructure in the Global South – a term used to refer to emerging and economically struggling countries, many of which are located below the equator – and is the world leader in the manufacturing of electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines. China is setting the tone for the transition to renewable energy in Asia and Africa. This is why experts have stressed the importance of Beijing’s commitment to fulfilling its 2021 commitment.
Xi skipped the UN meeting this week, in favor of a summit with US President Donald Trumpand sent the Chinese vice president Han Zheng to New York instead. Han has spoken about empowering the Global South during his term. UN speech Saturday and put development at the top of the global agenda.
In 2021, the United Nations climate agency optimistically declared that coal was “relegated to history” after nearly 200 countries agreed to gradually reduce fossil fuels. But after two energetic shocks of Russia-Ukraine War and the Iranian Warthe need for “energy security” is changing the future of coal in hard-hit regions like Southeast Asia.
This energy-hungry region is often referred to as “China’s backyard” and is a major recipient of Chinese funds. This diverse region, which accounts for a fifth of the world’s growing energy demand, relies heavily on fossil fuel imports from the Middle East.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz hit Southeast Asia first and hardestsending governments into a state of energy sorting.
Several nations have increased use of coal survive the crisis, which also signaled to governments the need need for renewable energy. Regional nations are investing in rooftop solar, encourage electric vehicles And explore nuclear energy.
While renewable energy is growing rapidly, coal remains indispensable in Asia.
“Southeast Asian countries’ growing desire to secure reliable energy supplies could cause a new wave of coal fever,” said Li Shuo, director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute, which “will continue to test the resolve behind the coal moratorium.”
China’s key role in climate and energy
China was the largest overseas coal financier until Xi made his 2021 pledge.
“This was the first time Beijing was willing to expand its new climate ambitions beyond its borders,” Li said.
China is currently the world’s largest annual emitter of carbon dioxide, although the United States is the world’s largest historical emitter.
While China’s coal consumption slowly declinesit still leads the world in building new national coal infrastructure. Coal has been China’s ubiquitous energy source for decades; When China reopened to the United States in 1979, arriving Americans landed in towns that smelled strongly of burning coal, the residue of which quickly accumulated on clothing and skin.
Today, China dominates the global electric vehicle market and is the world’s largest producer of solar panels and wind turbines – constantly set records for massive renewable energy deployments.
“The rapid expansion of clean energy, both in China and increasingly abroad, since the announcement of the coal moratorium should encourage Beijing to further prioritize renewable energy in its international energy strategy,” Li said.
Canceled coal projects are a positive for the climate
China has canceled 67% of the coal-fired power capacity it planned to build overseas in 2021, according to a new report from the Center for Clean Energy and Air Research, or CREA, and the People of Asia for Climate Solutions, or PACS.
By canceling these projects – totaling 61.5 gigawatts – China avoided 6.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions over its lifetime, the report estimates.
China is somewhat delivering on its 2021 pledge, that’s a positive story, said Syahdiva Moezbar, an industry analyst at CREA in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, but “coal’s expansion has not stopped due to the nature of the pledge itself, which still allows private Chinese companies to invest overseas.”
Indonesia saw a boom in coal-fired power plants financed by Chinese companies to specifically power heavy industries, such as nickel and aluminum smelting, without being connected to the national electricity grid. This is called “captive coal”.
Indonesia ranks first in terms of continued Chinese investment, with 17.1 gigawatts of Chinese-backed coal capacity. Vietnam and Pakistan come in second and third with less than 4 gigawatts in the pipeline, according to the report.
“When commercial interests take precedence over China’s broader commitments to green development and global climate security, the benefits of China’s remarkable leadership in clean energy are undermined,” said Xiaojun Wang, executive director of PACS, in a statement accompanying the report.
This was further complicated by the Energy shock of the war in Iran who is a A harsh wake-up call for Southeast Asia. The Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Vietnam all increased their coal consumption due to the war in Iran.
As global demand for coal stagnates, energy-hungry Southeast Asia finds itself trend in the opposite direction.
Southeast Asia accounts for nearly 20% of growth in global energy demand through 2035, according to the International Energy Agency, which said “the crisis prompts a reassessment of policies and investment strategies amid a high priority on energy security.”
The energy transition is “a two-party tango,” said Li of the China Climate Hub, emphasizing that China and its partner must be equally committed to phasing out coal. Although five years have passed since that commitment, he said, “this saga is far from over.”
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