Focus on Arts and Ecology

The big environmental stories in the Chinese media this week (29 June-5 July)

Kenya’s National Environmental Tribunal has cancelled a permit to build the country’s first coal-fired power plant, reports Caixin. China’s Industrial and Commercial Bank (ICBC) is the main financier of the project, while PowerChina and other Chinese companies were set to construct it. The tribunal ruled that ICBC failed to undertake sufficient public consultation and to account for certain environmental impacts.
 
The case has been a major flashpoint in the broader story of China’s overseas coal power development. Community activists have long argued that Kenya has sufficient renewable energy resources and doesn’t need coal to meet its rising electricity needs. A representative from the China Biodiversity Protection and Green Development Fund, secretary Zhou Jinfeng, went to Kenya to meet with opposing parties this year. Zhou said that in this new era of global environmental governance, stakeholder participation is very important, and Chinese companies have to engage with local communities, not just governments.
 
China’s ambassador to Kenya, Wu Peng, invited campaigners to meet after the ruling. According to their account, he said: “It has been and always will be the people of Kenya who can decide whether there would be a coal power plant or not.” He also said that China is “committed to reduce coal usage in the world” and to investing in renewable energy.
 
Read more about the halting of the Lamu plant in the latest article on chinadialogue.