China will make full use of coal as a vital part of its energy strategy, leaders and officials said during the nation’s annual gathering of parliament this week, as it bids to balance economic stability with its longer-term climate goals.
Following a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) reiterating the importance of coal, delegates from across the country called for more investment in coal technology and new policies to shore up profits for coal enterprises.
Xi told a National People’s Congress delegation from the top coal-producing region of Inner Mongolia that China, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, was “rich in coal, poor in oil and short of gas,” and “could not part from reality.”
He said green transition was a process, and China could not simply “slam the brakes” on coal.
Xi last year pledged to “control” coal use over the 2021-2025 period and start cutting consumption in 2026, as part of China’s contribution to the fight against global warming.
However, growing energy security worries have already driven mining output to record highs and seen new coal-fired power plants go into construction.
Delegates tried to bridge the gap between developing coal and curbing emissions by calling for more investment in clean and “smart” coal technologies, including carbon capture and storage.
They also called for measures to release more supply onto the market and further develop the coal chemical industry, published minutes of closed-door meetings showed.
Support was also needed to encourage technological innovations that could transform coal power into a low-carbon energy source, said Shu Yinbiao (舒印彪), a delegate with the advisory body known as the China People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and chairman of state utility Huaneng.
China also needs to establish a long-term mechanism to ensure coal and power firms could remain profitable and guarantee supplies, the official People’s Daily newspaper quoted Shu as saying.
Jin Penghui (金鵬輝), another CPPCC delegate and head of the Shanghai branch of the central bank, called for public funds to be made available to boost efficiency and reduce emissions from coal.
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS