International funding for coal may have just met its end.
Chinese President Xi Jinping said during his video address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that Beijing will no longer build coal plants overseas and instead support developing countries in the transition to green and low-carbon energy.
Politico's Karl Mathieson notes that China is by far the largest financer of international coal, and considering the next largest backers — Japan and South Korea — previously made similar commitments, the practice will no longer have much, if any, actual weight behind it.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While Xi's announcement appears to be a big deal, Belinda Schäpe of climate think tank E3G points out that China still hosts more than 50 percent of the world's coal fleet, so Beijing still needs to "lend credibility" to its domestic climate targets and unveil a clear timeline for phasing coal out at home.
-
Cloudbursts: what are the 'rain bombs' hitting India and Pakistan?The Explainer The sudden and intense weather event is almost impossible to forecast and often leads to deadly flash-flooding and landslides
-
What do heatwaves mean for Scandinavia?Under the Radar A record-breaking run of sweltering days and tropical nights is changing the way people – and animals – live in typically cool Nordic countries
-
Blue whales have gone silent and it's posing troubling questionsUnder the radar Warming oceans are the answer
-
Acid rain is back: the sequel nobody wantedUnder The Radar A 'forever chemical' in rainwater is reviving a largely forgotten environmental issue
-
Why is the world so divided over plastics?Today's Big Question UN negotiations on first global plastic treaty are at stake, as fossil fuel companies, petrostates and plastic industry work to resist a legal cap on production
-
Tuvalu is being lost to climate change. Other countries will likely follow.Under the Radar Sea level rise is putting islands underwater
-
Massive earthquake sends tsunami across PacificSpeed Read Hundreds of thousands of people in Japan and Hawaii were told to evacuate to higher ground
-
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue chief resignsSpeed Read Ken Pagurek has left the organization, citing 'chaos'
