China rejects accusations of watering down COP26 coal agreements

China has defended itself against accusations of watering down negotiations at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry on Monday rejected criticism that China, together with India, had prevented a more concrete agreement on phasing out coal power at the last minute.
China is making "massive efforts" to control coal consumption and limit the construction of new coal-fired power plants.
The two-week meeting that ended at the weekend brought "positive progress," the spokesperson said.
He added, however, that reducing the share of coal in power generation is an ongoing process that must take into account the circumstances of countries at different stages of development.
For developing countries in particular, it is a major challenge to ensure that enough electricity is available despite the changes.
Developed countries should first stop using coal, then support developing countries by financing new technologies, the spokesperson said.

Due to pressure from China and India, the final agreement of the summit only mentions a phase-down of coal energy, instead of a phase-out. Several other countries had bitterly complained about this conduct.
This leaves open the question of whether both countries will ever completely give up coal-fired power.