Chinese President Xi Jinping has told a session of the UN General Assembly that China will no longer fund the building of coal-fired power plants in other countries. The change in policy will have a significant impact given that China is the world’s largest funder of coal projects in developing countries, as part of its Belt and Road Initiative. In making the announcement, Mr Xi said that China will “step up support for other developing countries in developing green and low-carbon energy”. US climate envoy John Kerry responded to the announcement that he was “absolutely delighted” by it; during the same session of the Assembly, the USA had said it would double its contributions to nations hardest hit by global warming, itself an important announcement. Both countries’ steps were generally met with welcome around the world.