China has cancelled 67% of the coal power capacity it once planned to build abroad, according to a report from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air and People of Asia for Climate Solutions. The shelved projects total 61.5 GW, and the authors estimate the cancellations avoid 6.4 billion tonnes of CO2 over the plants' operating lifetimes. The move follows Xi Jinping's 2021 pledge to stop financing overseas coal plants. However, the pledge has limits. Private Chinese companies can still invest in coal abroad, and the largest remaining pipeline sits in Indonesia at 17.1 GW, much of it captive coal for nickel and aluminium smelting. Vietnam and Pakistan each have under 4 GW of planned capacity. The report says coal expansion has not stopped because of how the commitment is structured. For anyone tracking carbon markets or climate finance, the key detail is the gap between policy intent and implementation. Public financing fell sharply, but private capital continues to fund coal in Southeast Asia, where energy demand growth is strong and grid reliability is a concern.
