On January 10th 2021, China's State Council Information Office issued an official policy paper titled "China's International Development Cooperation in the New Era". The Chinese government said it was publishing this paper to "introduce China’s views on international development cooperation in the new era, the actions it has taken, and its plans for the future." [1]
The paper further states that "China considers it a mission to contribute more to humanity", citing "South-South cooperation" as a focus and the Belt and Road cooperation as a major platform. According to the paper, helping other developing countries to pursue the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development "is a key goal".
"The Chinese state council just published its paper on development, a statement to the world on the specific Chinese understanding of its own role in global development. From it we learn that the vision of foreign aid does not foresee exclusion of financing coal power plants and is not based on economic assistance linked to the principle of "Do no harm". China as the biggest bilateral creditor globally has a specific responsibility to protect biodiversity, stop climate change and respect fundamental human rights by not doing harm," says Dr. Nora Sausmikat, China Desk at Urgewald.
International civil society organizations, among them Urgewald, have called on the Chinese government to move away from unsustainable, destructive technologies and invest in environmentally friendly alternatives instead. [2] Groups warn that the export of China’s development model, which until recently was heavily focused on fossil fuels and rapid economic growth, will lock many countries into a high-carbon-development mode for decades to come. China is currently the world's largest producer of fossil fuel CO2 emissions. [3] The world’s top five underwriters of coal plant developers are all Chinese institutions. [4] Currently, almost half of the 522 GW of new coal-fired power capacity planned worldwide are located in China. According to the GCEL 2020, 4 of the world’s top 5 coal plant developers are Chinese companies: China Energy (43 GW), China Datang (34 GW), China Huaneng (29 GW) and China Huadian (15 GW). [5]
"China is still financing the development of new coal power plants, which will come into operation by 2025. This means that these power plants will emit huge amounts of carbon even after 2050. Developing countries such as Bangladesh are also taking on a heavy loan burden in the energy sector. China is risking to look like a climate change denier due to these export credits. China should shift its investments to community-led, inclusive and participatory renewable energy projects towards a sustainable future for all," says Hasan Mehedi, Energy Campaigner for the Bangladesh Working Group on External Debt.
Notes:
[1] http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-01/10/c_139655400.htm
[2] https://urgewald.org/medien/record-cyclone-hits-bay-bengal-coal-sponsored-china-destroys-natural-safeguards
[3] https://www.statista.com/statistics/271748/the-largest-emitters-of-co2-in-the-world/
[4] https://coalexit.org/sites/default/files/download_public/COP25_PR_0.pdf
[5] https://urgewald.org/en/medien/cutting-finance-coal-how-asian-economies-prove-net-zero-worth
