China plans on shutting down around 2,000 small coal mines this year, with a total capacity of 117.48 million tonnes.
The decision is part of the Beijing plan to reduce alarming rates of air pollution and reduce China’s dependency on coal, reports Reuters.
According to the National Energy Administration (NEA), the depleting coal mines will be the first to go. Most of these are located in the eastern parts of the country. NEA also reminded governments that they must encourage mergers and technological upgrades in the coal sector.
Further, the Chinese Government will also consolidate production from operations in remote parts, including the vast north-western regions of Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang and increase the share of non-fossil fuels in its overall energy consumption to 10.7% in 2014.
These measures are necessary since the country plans to improve its energy efficiency, control the consumption of energy, optimize the energy mix and guarantee energy supply.
China accounts for about 50% of the coal consumption in the world. The decision to close the coal mines does not come as a surprise as in 2012 alone, Beijing closed down 628 medium-sized coal mines, improved technological processes of 622 mines, merged 388 mines and phased out 97.8 million tonnes of outdated production facilities.
The Chinese Government pledged to close down at least 2, 000 small coal mines by 2015 due to safety concerns just a month after it decided to ban coal-fuelled installations near Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong.
Local governments have been given the orders to gradually shut all the coal mines with annual production capacity of under 90, 000 tonnes as well as illegal mines and mines that are not in compliance with state safety standards.
