Albanese Welcomes China’s Pledge to Cut Emissions but Urges Faster Coal Exit

Xi committed to absolute emission cuts and rapid green growth, but Albanese said China’s coal expansion risks locking in decades of pollution.
Albanese Welcomes China’s Pledge to Cut Emissions but Urges Faster Coal Exit
Waste coal is unloaded near an unauthorized steel factory in Inner Mongolia, China, on Nov. 3, 2016. Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has cautiously welcomed Beijing’s new climate commitments, but said China must go further by halting the opening of new coal-fired power stations if it is serious about cutting emissions.

Speaking at a New York Times event on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in the United States, Albanese said Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping’s announcement of absolute economy-wide emission cuts marked progress but fell short of what was needed.