China Briefing, 23 September 2021: Xi’s ‘no overseas coal’ pledge; More orders on domestic coal; ‘Ball in China’s court’
Xi states China will not build new coal-fired power jobs abroad.
WHY IT MATTERS: Xis guidelines followed Chinas top decision-making body advised officials and companies of all levels to “rectify campaign-style carbon decrease”. Last week, Chinas state macroeconomic coordinator launched a scheme to “improve” the nations “dual-control” policy– which sets targets on total energy intake and energy intensity (the energy usage per unit of GDP). Prof Yuan stated: “The message sent out by China to the [domestic] coal industry is very clear: Under the prerequisite of a steady phaseout, [we must] manage the total usage, make sure the peaking of emissions on schedule and avoid charging towards the carbon peak; nevertheless, as coal is still the fundamental source of energy, its supply must likewise match the requirements of financial development to ensure energy security.”.
DESCRIPTION: Xi said the development of coal must “be based upon the countrys circumstance, control the total volume, adhere to the bottom line, lower quantity and replace organized and push forward the shift and upgrade of coal intake”. Prof Yuan Jiahai from North China Electric Power University shared with Carbon Brief his understanding of Xis order: “An uncomplicated understanding is given that [China] still needs to rely on coal for a very long time, [we] should control the overall [consumption] of coal, strategy paths to change and minimize [the usage] clearly and push for the shift and upgrade for the [quantity of] coal [we] need to utilize.”.
KERRY: John Kerry, the United States special presidential envoy for environment, has said that he will visit China again quickly for more climate diplomacy. Kerry has actually been to China two times this year: in April and early September.
A recent report by the Beijing-based Green Belt and Road Initiative Center found that China did not finance any coal projects by means of the BRI in the first half of 2021. On the subject of China prohibiting overseas coal jobs, Edmund Downie, a non-resident fellow at the SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy of Columbia University in the US, told Carbon Brief last month: “China has actually been reluctant about making a public commitment that squeezes its establishing country allies.
Other news.
COP26: Alok Sharma told Sky Newss Trevor Phillips On Sunday reveal that he had had “really frank and constructive discussions” with Chinese authorities in Tianjin. On the other hand, Chinas state media has already stated that the outcome of COP26 depends on whether “the UK and the worldwide neighborhood” would “allow Washington to pirate the top for its ill geopolitical intents”.
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Institutions and policies to Support Carbon Neutrality in China by 2060Economics of Energy and Environmental Policy.
A new paper has evaluated Chinas environmental and environment policies over the last 2 years. It found that main planning and targets adapted to the countrys administrative hierarchy have been most widespread, supported primarily by command-and-control policies at the sectoral level. The research study also found that in order to attain much deeper reductions needed by the carbon neutrality goal, market-based mechanisms will likely grow from a minor supplement to an important pillar of expense control– when there is broad involvement and buy-in to long-term plans.
WHAT: Days before Xis speech at UNGA76, he had already provided new regulations on the advancement of coal domestically. He purchased the coal market to develop in a “green and low-carbon” instructions that would match the nations environment objectives. In specific, Xi explained the coal-to-chemical industry as having “terrific possible and pledge”.
Chinas president Xi Jinping announced that the country “will not develop brand-new coal-fired power tasks abroad” in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday. The news came as John Kerry, US president Bidens climate envoy, informed MSNBC that he would check out China “somewhere in the next weeks”– his third trip there in about 6 months.
Residual flood damage under intensive adaptationNature Climate Change.
MORE EXPLANATION: Regarding Xis direction on the coal chemical industry, Prof Yuan said that, in his opinion, Xi was not describing the high-emission, high-water-consuming and high-polluting services in the standard coal-to-chemical market. He believed that Xi was requiring the development of “brand-new types of coal-based speciality materials”. Xi directed the country to “actively develop coal-based speciality fuels, coal-based naturally degradable materials and so on”. Prof Yuan said that under the carbon-neutrality goal, making use of coal as a fuel would be “considerably limited and slowly gotten rid of”. He added: “In the long term, coal has the possibility of changing from being a fuel to being a raw product.”.
WESTERN COVERAGE: BBC News stated that Xis statement “could limit the expansion of coal plants in numerous developing countries under Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)”. Analysis by its Shanghai reporter, Robin Brant, explained the promise as “low-hanging fruit in terms of Chinas addiction to coal”, keeping in mind that “half the coal burned in the world is burned in China”. The Daily Telegraph wrote that Xi “didnt state anything about what China … would do about its ongoing coal investments at home”.
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WHERE: Xi attended to workers at a state-owned chemical factory in Yulin in northern Chinas Shaanxi province. It also has Chinas very first “national-level energy chemical base”, built in 1998.
Somewhere Else, Alok Sharma, president-designate for COP26, has actually said that the “ball is in Chinas court” when it concerns ensuring the success of the Glasgow summit. Sharma made the remarks in 2 separate interviews with Sky News and the BBC. Sharma likewise noted that Xi had “not yet” confirmed his participation at COP26, which is arranged to start on 31 October..
Xi calls for low-carbon development for domestic coal.
ON XI: Asked by Trevor Phillips of Sky News if Xi had confirmed to come to COP26, Sharma stated “no, not yet”. Speaking to Andrew Marr, Sharma stated Xis attendance had “not yet been confirmed”.
JOHNSON: Boris Johnson has gotten in touch with China to phase out the domestic use of coal following Xis promise to stop constructing brand-new overseas coal-fired jobs. Johnson stated in a speech at UNGA76 yesterday: “I thank President Xi for what he has done to end Chinas global funding of coal and I hope China will now go further and phase out the domestic usage of coal as well, due to the fact that the experience of the UK shows it can be done.”.
RAIN: The city of Beijing has actually seen more rainfall this summer than the very same season of the previous 20 years. The locations around the Chinese capital have actually also experienced more precipitation events this year. Professionals stated that a combination of environment aspects– including international warming, El Niño, La Niña, sea temperatures and subtropical high– have caused increased rain in northern China. Since of worldwide warming, another possible cause is that Chinas rainfall line has actually moved northwards. Beijing News reported the story..
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Independently, Xi offered new orders to the domestic coal industry while inspecting a factory recently. According to state media, Xi specified that coal is the countrys “primary [source of] energy”, but added that the industry needs to establish in a “green, low-carbon” method. In specific, he called for technological development for the coal-to-chemical industry.
WHAT: President Xi stated that China “will not construct brand-new coal-fired power projects abroad” on Tuesday in an address at the basic debate of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA76). On climate change, Xi likewise stated that China “will step up support for other establishing nations in establishing low-carbon and green energy”.
CCTV, the state broadcaster, ran the section of Xis remarks about Chinas environment action with remarkable background music and shots of solar panels and wind turbines. The clip was reposted by different other state-run outlets, consisting of China Daily and China News Service. Ruan called Xis promise “another exceptional step taken by China on its own initiative to cope with the international climate modification”.
New science.
Nor did he discuss how and when China plans to satisfy the commitment. When asked by a Bloomberg reporter yesterday if Xis announcement included an end to funding for overseas coal tasks, Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson at Chinas Ministry of Foreign Affairs, suggested that the journalist ask “the department in charge”.
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MAIN INSPECTION: Chinas environmental evaluation group has actually criticised Liaoyuan city in Jilin province for failing to strike its “dual-control” targets. During an investigation this month, the Central Ecological and Environmental Inspection Team (CEEIT) also discovered that the city had “apparent problems” in enabling “prohibited” jobs with “high” energy usage and “high” emissions to run. The Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced the news in a release. Read Carbon Briefs Q&A to understand the significance of such assessments.
Additional reading.
Key advancements.
Utilizing a flooding model and cost– advantage analysis, the researchers found that China, India and Latin American countries “can achieve greater levels of flood security that will minimize RFD even under extreme situations”. They kept in mind that a high RFD (surpassing 0.1% of a regions GDP) would remain, “specifically in eastern China”.
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WESTERN COVERAGE: BBC News said that Xis announcement “might restrict the expansion of coal plants in lots of establishing nations under Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)”. Analysis by its Shanghai reporter, Robin Brant, explained the promise as “low-hanging fruit in terms of Chinas addiction to coal”, keeping in mind that “half the coal burned in the world is burned in China”. The Daily Telegraph wrote that Xi “didnt state anything about what China … would do about its continued coal financial investments at house”. The clip was reposted by different other state-run outlets, consisting of China Daily and China News Service. On the topic of China banning abroad coal tasks, Edmund Downie, a non-resident fellow at the SIPA Center on Global Energy Policy of Columbia University in the United States, informed Carbon Brief last month: “China has been reluctant about making a public commitment that squeezes its developing nation allies.