Coal plant pledge reflects Beijing's green aspiration

China's recent pledge to stop building new coal-fired power plants abroad was perhaps the biggest and most practical commitment made by world leaders at the United Nations General Assembly to address climate change.

It is a radical move that will put into effect the nation's long-standing aspiration to roll out more green development programs under the Belt and Road Initiative. In the first half of this year, China did not commit to financing new coal projects abroad, pointing to the veracity of its resolve to help the world cut back on carbon emissions and reduce the global temperature rise.

The significance of the pledge could be gleaned from the many positive messages that have come from world leaders and climate change mitigation champions. John Kerry, the United States' climate envoy, said he was "absolutely delighted" by the decision. Alok Sharma, president of the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, or COP 26, called China's announcement an important outcome of his consultations with Chinese officials.

Coal is estimated to contribute up to 40 percent of global carbon dioxide emissions. Any concrete effort to reduce its use around the world is therefore a step in the right direction in addressing the debilitating effects of global warming.

Africa in particular has been hit hard by the consequences of climate change. Changing rainfall patterns have affected agricultural productivity on the continent, leading to reduced food security while exacerbating other socioeconomic fragilities. It is against this background that Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta nudged the UN General Assembly to promote climate-mitigation financial support to developing countries through avenues like green manufacturing.

The decision to reduce its coal footprint abroad adds to China's earlier commitments, including peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060. With Beijing's green energy sector outstripping its fossil fuels industry in terms of growth, China is making great efforts to meet its carbon targets.

The Global Wind Energy Council has reported that 60.4 gigawatts of new wind capacity was installed around the world in 2019. China installed 71.67 GW of wind power capacity in 2020, nearly tripling the 2019 baseline, according to the National Energy Administration. China's solar capacity of 253 GW at the end of 2020, coupled with massive investments in the renewable energy sector, prompted the government to project that China's share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption would rise to 25 percent by 2030.

Other recent climate mitigation initiatives by China include the inauguration of the South-South Climate Cooperation Fund, which supports the establishment of low-carbon industrial parks in developing countries. In addition to benefiting from China's support via climate mitigation and adaptation programs, 34 countries around the world have so far been helped by the new fund.

Even as Beijing tackles the issue of coal head-on at home and abroad, President Xi Jinping has also pledged to help developing countries muster more clean energy sources as economies seek to rebuild from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Africa, for instance, China is the biggest partner in driving the uptake of renewable energies.

The availability of safe and reliable energy is a key plank in hoisting African economies back to the growth path. According to the International Energy Agency, 578 million people still lack power connectivity on the continent. Data from the International Renewable Energy Agency indicates that between 2009 and 2018, China helped upgrade solar capacity in Africa from 739 to 5,500 megawatts, while wind energy installations during the same period jumped from a paltry 108 to 6,100 MW.

Certainly, more efforts are needed to steer the planet toward a more livable habitat. Besides new climate targets by countries, a strong push for a multilateral climate undertaking is critical to reversing the harmful effects of climate change.

The writer is a scholar of international relations with a focus on China-Africa ties.