China has cancelled two-thirds of the overseas coal-fired power capacity planned before its September 2021 pledge to end foreign coal financing, according to an annual evaluation by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) and People of Asia for Climate Solutions (PACS). The cancellation of 61.5 gigawatts (GW) of planned capacity has avoided approximately 6.4 billion tonnes of lifetime carbon dioxide emissions across developing markets.
The report stated that Chinese state-owned enterprises and state policy banks have largely halted new overseas coal developments. In the 12 months leading to July 2026, cancellations totaled 7.1 GW globally, including 3.4 GW in Zimbabwe, 1.7 GW in Bangladesh, and 1.4 GW in Indonesia.
Despite state-level disengagement, researchers pointed to an ongoing loophole among private developers. While 7.1 GW was cancelled over the past year, another 3.3 GW entered construction and 20.5 GW remained in planning without formal termination. Indonesia hosts the largest volume of China-linked coal projects at 17.1 GW, driven largely by non-state industrial firms building captive power plants for heavy metal processing.
In parallel, the report noted that operational China-linked renewable energy abroad grew to 69.4 GW by July 2026, alongside 3.3 GW of nuclear capacity. CREA and PACS observed that China-linked green power generation has expanded rapidly, surpassing the potential output of cancelled coal plants in key markets including the United Arab Emirates, Brazil, and Tanzania.
Sources
- streamlinefeed.co.ke · 2026-09-26
