Over the years China has received much applause for its clean environmental speeches at climate change and environmental events. However, on the ground reality narrates a different story as China continues to be the largest coal producer globally.
Citing China Coal Transport and Distribution Association's (CCTDA) data, the Asia Times reported that the coal used by coastal power plants at five major Chinese utilities hit 488,800 tonnes during the last week of March, more than double from a record low seen on February 10.
Despite making tall speeches about the road to have a clean environment, the Chinese government reportedly plans to add coal storage facilities in 2020 to ensure stockpiles at or above 15 days' normal supply for coal-driven power plants.
In 2019, the country's coal consumption was up by 1 per cent over the previous year, marking the third consecutive annual rise in coal use.
The Asia Times reported that the government is also permitting more domestic coal production, with as much as 141 million tonnes worth greenlighted from January to June of 2019, an increase of 2.6 per cent year on year. In 2018, 25 million tonnes of coal for domestic production was approved.
It has also been reported that amid the claims of moving towards renewable energy, China is building new coal-fired power plants. It is significant to mention here that most coal-fired power plants have a lifetime of around 50 years.
Jennifer Song, an analyst with Morningstar, a global financial services firm, was quoted as saying, "We expect coal to remain the primary source for [power production] baseload dispatch, given China's cheap and plentiful coal reserves...Coal-fired generation's reliability and large-scale make it well suited to meet the country's power needs."
China with only 18 per cent of global population emits as much as 27 per cent of Greenhouse gas (GHG). According to experts, the increased coal consumption, production and power development is opposite of the Paris Climate Accord goals, under which the non-OECD (Orgsation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Asia's coal power generation must be reduced by at least 63 per cent by 2030 and totally by 2037.
( With inputs from ANI )