bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

China’s top state planning agency has pledged to accelerate policies to promote cleaner and renewable sources of energy and tackle overcapacity in polluting industrial sectors.
China is trying to strike a balance between improving its environment, suffering from more than three decades of breakneck growth, and keeping its economy running at the pace required to maintain employment and stability.
The National Development and Reform Commission in its annual report published at the opening of the full session of parliament said it would implement policies aimed at reducing coal consumption and controlling the number of energy-guzzling projects in polluted regions.
For all the latest news from China’s parliamentary sessions click here
“We will strive for zero-growth in the consumption of coal in key areas of the country,” Premier Li Keqiang said in his government work report delivered to parliament on Thursday.
“Environmental pollution is a blight on people’s quality of life and a trouble that weighs on their hearts,” Li said.
The commission also said it would take action to boost the proportion of cleaner fuels, encourage the development and utilisation of natural gas and aggressively develop renewable wind, solar and biofuel energy sources.
“For areas affected by severe smog, regions where conserving energy is difficult and industries with overcapacity, we will strictly control the number of energy-intensive projects and implement policies for reducing coal use and for replacing coal with alternative energy sources," the report said.
While trying to cut the consumption of polluting fossil fuels to ease choking smog, the commission said it would take action to “turn the coal sector around”.
Asian coal prices have strengthened this year, but are still only about half levels of four years ago, and more than 70 per cent of China’s miners are said to be facing losses.
Beijing already implemented a series of measures last year aimed at propping up coal prices by curbing imports and controlling output.
China’s top energy official, Nur Bekri, said in comments published by the National Energy Administration on Thursday that improving efficiency and environmental standards for coal would be a key component of China’s energy policy this year.
He said the country would aim to raise wind power capacity to 200 gigawatts (GW) and solar to about 100 GW by 2020, up from 95.8 GW and 26.5 GW respectively at the end of last year.
China is also aiming to raise natural gas output, including coal-bed methane and shale gas, to more than 245 billion cubic metres a year by the end of the decade, he said.
Overcapacity remains a problem in a number of sectors, such as steel and cement, and the commission said it would introduce more measures to encourage mergers and close outdated capacity.
According to Li’s government work report, China will aim to cut energy intensity, the amount of energy used per unit of GDP growth, by 3.1 per cent this year.
The rate fell by 4.8 percent in 2014 and the government is on course to meet a 16 per cent drop over the 2011-2015 period.
 


How foreign media engages Beijing, and vice versa, at Li Keqiang's press conference

Encouraging entrepreneurship is key to meeting China's challenges

China still a developing nation, says Premier Li Keqiang as he signals country's plan to focus inwards

At Chinese Premier Li Keqiang's presser, eager reporters stop playing by the rules

China Parliamentary Sessions 2015

China pledges to cut coal use, increase renewables to help tackle pollution

Shanghai's skyline shrouded in smog last month. China's economic planning body wants to halt any increased use of coal, one the main causes of pollution. Photo: AFP

News

China

Measures announced by government's economic planning agency include encouraging the greater use of natural gas, plus wind and solar power


China’s top state planning agency has pledged to accelerate policies to promote cleaner and renewable sources of energy and tackle overcapacity in polluting industrial sectors.
