The ambiguity in China’s plans to stop building new coal-fired power plants outside the country could dilute its climate-control pledge, with more than one-third of the potential capacities falling “in the grey area”, according to an industry report.

Eighteen projects with a combined capacity of 19.2 gigawatts (GW) could still proceed towards construction, the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said, because the promoters have secured the relevant permits and financing for these.

They amount to 34 per cent of the capacity in 50 Chinese-backed overseas coal-fired projects identified by CREA, the think tank said in a report released on Friday. China’s top planning agency has pledged to halt all new overseas projects while pushing those under construction in its much vaunted Belt and Road initiatives in developing countries.

Guest post from South China Morning Post