- Israeli defense minister postpones trip to Washington: Pentagon
- Europe skipper Donald in talks with Garcia over Ryder return
- Kenya MPs vote to impeach deputy president in historic move
- Former US coach Berhalter named Chicago Fire head coach
- New York Jets fire head coach Saleh: team
- Australia crush New Zealand in Women's T20 World Cup
- US states accuse TikTok of harming young users
- 'Evacuate now, now, now': Florida braces for next hurricane
- US Supreme Court skeptical of challenge to 'ghost guns' regulation
- Sparks fly as Orban berates EU 'elites' in parliament trip
- US finalizes rule to remove lead pipes within a decade
- Solanke hungry for second England cap after seven-year wait
- Gilded canopy restored at Vatican basilica
- Zverev scrapes through, Djokovic cruises to Shanghai Masters last 16
- Trump secretly sent Covid tests to Putin: Bob Woodward book
- Gauff answers critics: 'It's hard to win all the time'
- Neural networks, machine learning? Nobel-winning AI science explained
- China says raised 'serious concerns' with US over trade curbs
- Boeing delivers 27 MAX jets in September despite strike
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of other sex crimes
- Italy seek Nations League consistency as Germany continue rebuild
- From boom to budgeting as reality bites for Saudi football
- Stock markets diverge as Hong Kong sinks, oil prices fall
- US trade gap narrowest in five months as imports slip
- Stay and 'you are going to die': Florida braces for next hurricane
- England 96-1 after Salman's century lifts Pakistan to 556
- Hollywood star Idris Elba champions African cinema in Ghana
- Djokovic rolls Cobolli to make Shanghai Masters last 16
- Milan's Hernandez receives two-game suspension after referee rant
- Geoffrey Hinton, soft-spoken godfather of AI
- Ex-Barcelona and Spain great Iniesta retires aged 40
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for 'foundational' AI breakthroughs
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free in 2025 after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China slaps provisional tariffs on EU brandy imports
- Ex-skipper Skelton eyes Wallabies November return
- Spanish great Iniesta leaves indelible legacy after retirement
- Indian Kashmir elects first regional government in a decade
- Hong Kong stocks crash, oil prices retreat on fading China boost
- Man City accuse Premier League of 'misleading' claims after legal case
- Duo wins Physics Nobel for key breakthroughs in AI
- Agha defies England as Pakistan post 515-8 in first Test
- September second-warmest on record: EU climate monitor
- Pastor wanted by US for sex trafficking to run for Philippine senate
- Mozambican writer Mia Couto dreams future leaders set an 'example'
- German 'Maddie' suspect could be free soon after cleared of separate sex crimes
- China says to take anti-dumping measures against EU brandy imports
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case cleared in separate sex crimes trial
- Israel expands offensive against Hezbollah in south Lebanon
- China stocks rally fizzles on stimulus worries amid Asia retreat
- Bangladesh's Yunus says no elections before reforms
RBGPF | -0.46% | 60.52 | $ | |
RYCEF | 1.29% | 6.97 | $ | |
CMSC | 0.12% | 24.6 | $ | |
NGG | 0.58% | 65.86 | $ | |
BP | -3.4% | 32.05 | $ | |
RIO | -4.72% | 66.48 | $ | |
RELX | 1.32% | 46.655 | $ | |
AZN | 0.02% | 76.889 | $ | |
GSK | -1.58% | 38.03 | $ | |
BTI | 0.04% | 35.213 | $ | |
CMSD | 0.25% | 24.851 | $ | |
VOD | -0.52% | 9.64 | $ | |
SCS | -0.54% | 12.88 | $ | |
BCC | -0.01% | 141.25 | $ | |
JRI | -0.46% | 13.12 | $ | |
BCE | -0.13% | 33.485 | $ |
China axes 15 coal plants abroad after Xi pledge, but loopholes remain: study
More than a dozen Chinese coal power projects overseas were cancelled after a ban last year on funding such plants, but loopholes could allow 18 others to still go ahead, according to a study published Friday.
China is the world's biggest emitter of the greenhouse gases driving global warming. It has vowed to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and become carbon-neutral by 2060, but these do not include its fossil-fuel investments abroad.
It is also the largest public funder of overseas coal plants, and was planning to build 67 in more than a dozen countries when President Xi Jinping announced a ban on financing "new projects" in September.
Since then, Chinese developers have cancelled 15 overseas coal projects as funding dried up and host countries demanded greener alternatives, a study by the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said.
The cancelled projects would have generated 12.8 gigawatts of electricity -- or the total power generation capacity in Singapore, the think tank added.
But a lack of clear rules has allowed Chinese developers to continue to build new coal power projects, it warned.
"The key concern is that China will continue to fund or build new coal projects to power industrial parks under the Belt and Road Initiative," said Isabella Suarez, a researcher at CREA, referring to Xi's $1 trillion global infrastructure push.
"The loophole is that because the industrial parks have been years in the making, additional coal on these projects would not be considered new, even if... tenders are happening after the pledge to ban coal funding."
- Deadly impact -
China's top economic planner issued vague guidelines in March, telling developers to "proceed cautiously" on coal plants that were in the final stages of planning.
These could potentially stop Chinese funding for 32 planned coal plants and prompt the "reexamination" of 36 others that are under way, according to the CREA report.
However, "about 18 coal projects (in the pipeline) that can generate 19.2 Gigawatts of power have already secured financing and permits... and could still go ahead," Suarez said.
AFP has sought comment on the report from the National Development and Reform Commission, China's economic planner.
Most of these projects are in Indonesia, where China is investing billions to mine nickel and other minerals needed to build electric vehicles, according to data from the Global Energy Monitor.
Vietnam and Bangladesh have in recent months requested China to build gas projects instead of the agreed coal projects, according to government notices.
The deadly impact of climate change -- from extreme heatwaves to more intense superstorms -- is already being felt across the world.
Experts say emissions must be halved within a decade to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius (36 degrees Fahrenheit) or ideally to 1.5C as stated in the Paris climate accord.
L.Miller--AMWN