China mulls more curbs on coal, metal industries to combat smog

China is considering forcing steel and aluminium producers to cut more output, banning coal in one of the country’s top ports and shutting some fertiliser and drug plants as Beijing intensifies its war on smog, a draft policy document shows.

The Ministry of Environmental Protection has proposed the measures in a draft policy document seen by Reuters. If implemented, they would be some of the most radical steps so far to tackle air quality in the country’s most polluted cities.

The move comes after China’s northeast has battled some of the worst pollution in years as emissions from heavy industry, coal burning in winter and increased transport have left major cities including Beijing blanketed in thick smog.

The document outlines plans to cut steel and fertiliser capacity by at least half and aluminium capacity by at least 30 per cent in 28 cities across five regions during the winter heating season, which normally lasts from late November to late February.

By July, it would stop Tianjin, one of the nation’s busiest ports, handling coal, with shipments diverted to Tangshan, 130 km to the north. The port accounted for 17 per cent of China’s coal imports last year.