Taken from BBC News Mundo
Xi Jinping, the president of China, announced that his country will stop participating in the construction of coal-fired power plants abroad.
The Chinese leader announced the news during the United Nations General Assembly.
"China will step up support for other developing countries in green and low-carbon energy, and will not build new coal-fired power projects abroad," Xi said in a pre-recorded video.
The move could hinder the future development of coal worldwide: more than 70% of all coal plants currently built worldwide rely on Chinese funding, according to data from the Beijing-based International Green Finance Institute, cited by Bloomberg .
In 2020, the Chinese leader had already announced plans to make China carbon-neutral by 2060, and in his speech this Wednesday before the UN he promised to accelerate efforts to achieve this.
"This requires tremendous hard work and we will make every effort to achieve these goals," he emphasized.
China's commitment comes just weeks before the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) to be held in Glasgow in November, which will seek to expand the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Xi's statements were welcomed by various environmental organizations, although they insisted on the need for measures in the Asian country itself, the world's leading polluter .
Reactions
China's announcement comes after similar pledges from South Korea and Japan and following pressure from the international community.
The climate organization 350.org said, according to AFP, that Xi's announcement was "enormous" and could mean a "radical change."
This year there were already signs of this shift: China has financed coal-fired power plants in other countries through its Belt and Road Initiative, and in the first six months of this year it did not finance any , the first time this has happened, according to Bloomberg .
Helen Mountford, vice president for climate and economics at the World Resources Institute, considered it "a historic turning to move away from the world's dirtiest fossil fuel," according to AFP.
"China's promise shows that the hose of international public financing for coal is being turned off," he said.
Manish Bapna, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), said in a statement that "it is a great step forward in the long global march towards a healthier, safer and more prosperous world.".
"By canceling plans to build dozens of coal-fired power plants, China is taking a strong step toward a cleaner future abroad . This opens the door to bolder climate ambition from China and other key countries, both at home and abroad," he added.
Unknowns
Despite the positive reception of Xi's message, it remains unclear what will happen to projects already underway or agreed upon.
Xi also made no mention of coal-fired power plants within the Asian country, another major concern regarding the health of the planet.
Coal has been the country's main source of energy for decades and its use is increasing.
In fact, as of August, the Chinese government was building new plants at more than 60 locations across the country . Many locations even have more than one plant.
US climate change envoy John Kerry said during a recent visit to China that building more coal-fired power plants "poses a significant challenge to the world's efforts to tackle the climate crisis.".
China has previously argued that it has the right to do what Western countries have done in the past: release CO2 to develop its economy and reduce poverty.
As a result of this consumption, the Asian giant's carbon emissions are not only enormous and growing, but they dwarf those of other countries.
Emissions per person in the Asian country are about half those of the US, but its huge population of 1.4 billion and explosive economic growth have put it far ahead of any other country.
China became the world's largest emitter of CO2 in 2006 and is now responsible for more than a quarter of the planet's global greenhouse gas production.
Experts agree that if China does not make significant reductions in the release of pollutants into the environment, the world cannot win the fight against climate change.
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Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden promised to double his country's funding for those states most affected by climate change.
"This will make the United States a leader in public climate finance," Biden said in his first speech as US president at the UN General Assembly.
According to experts cited by AFP, the announcement would mean a contribution of US$11.4 billion annually.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "encouraged" by the "important" announcements from China and the US, but that much more is needed to combat climate change.
According to a UN report on climate change published in August, the most comprehensive to date, continued greenhouse gas emissions could break a key global temperature limit in just over a decade .
In addition to the news from China and the US, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would ratify the Paris Climate Agreement.
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