Cecilia Han Springer

Opinion | To make Xi’s clean energy vows a reality, China must strengthen its ‘green’ belt and road and overseas coal ban

Beijing can build on its ambitious vision for the belt and road by offering technical guidance on renewable energy, more financial resources and international cooperation – a role unfortunately mired in geopolitics

It should re-examine its overseas coal power ban, which still allows plants under construction to continue

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Cecilia Han Springer

Published: 9:15am, 19 Sep 2022

One year ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping captured headlines at the 76th UN General Assembly when he declared that China would stop building new coal-fired power plants overseas. The announcement was notable, as China was the largest provider of public finance for overseas coal-fired power plants.

While other major financiers restricted support for coal, over the years, China had become the lender of last resort for some countries still seeking to develop coal power. This was a blot on China’s record as it sought to claim global climate leadership. Xi’s coal ban signalled a new era for China’s overseas energy engagement, and marked a major step towards achieving global climate and development goals.

But the attention on this eclipsed much of the rest of Xi’s speech at the UN, and in particular, the first half of the sentence that ended with the coal ban: “China will step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy”.

Given the pressing need for energy infrastructure in many developing countries, this commitment was just as important – if not more – than pulling the plug on coal.

One year later, where does Xi’s commitment to support more green and low-carbon energy and not build new coal plants in developing countries stand? For a start, an ambitious vision for a green and low-carbon Belt and Road Initiative, codified in policy, is starting to emerge.

Mere months after Xi’s announcement, 15 planned coal power plants with Chinese finance or construction services were cancelled. This was partly due to Chinese institutions adjusting their overseas operations to fall in line with Xi’s energy commitments, though credit should also be given to host countries such as Vietnam, which updated their energy plans.