Status: 09/22/2021 8:50 a.m.
Environmentalists speak of an important signal: China’s head of state Xi announced in the UN general debate that it would no longer build coal-fired power plants abroad. But questions remain.
China’s head of state and party leader Xi Jinping announced in the UN general debate what environmental groups and experts have been calling for years: The People’s Republic will not build any new coal-fired power plants in other countries in the future, he said in a recorded speech.
In numerous emerging and developing countries in Asia and Africa, new large-scale coal-fired power plants have been built in recent years, financed by state-owned Chinese banks and built by state-owned Chinese construction companies. According to the Chinese head of state, this should now come to an end.
Li Shuo from the China office of the environmental protection organization Greenpeace said Xi’s announcements at the United Nations are a very important and positive signal for climate protection.
The Celukan Bawang coal-fired power plant on the Indonesian island of Bali was built by China.
Image: AFP
China wants to be climate neutral by 2060
Xi emphasized in his speech that the People’s Republic will be a climate-neutral country by 2060. China will also endeavor to reduce CO2 emissions for the first time by 2030 at the latest. Until then – until the end of this decade – carbon dioxide emissions in the People’s Republic will continue to rise year after year. New coal-fired power plants are still being built in China itself.
He now expects more clarity from the Chinese government on how exactly Xi’s climate protection announcements are to be implemented, said Li Shuo of Greenpeace. For example, the question is whether the commitments relate only to government agencies or also to private Chinese companies.
The People’s Republic of China is by far the largest emitter of climate-damaging gases. In terms of CO2 emissions per capita, the country has now overtaken the EU, and the trend is rising. At the same time, China’s government is investing heavily in the expansion of renewable energies and in nuclear power.
Xi Jinping / UN: China no longer wants any new coal-fired power plants abroad
Steffen Wurzel, ARD Shanghai, 9/22/2021 7:55 am