Surprisingly, production of coal actually fell in 2014 by
2.1%. New environmental regulations, more investment in renewable energy
sources, restrictions on low-quality coal exports, and high rainfall leading to
increased levels of hydroelectric production can be attributed to the recent
fall in coal production. The China National Coal Association predicted that year-on-year,
coal production could be expected to fall by approximately 2.5%.
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| Chinese coal laborer/Photo credit: China Daily |
This fall in coal production is good not only for slowing
climate change, but also for reducing the amount of toxic smog that currently
plagues many of China’s urban areas. China’s Xinhua news agency claims that
from 2005-2013, there was a 29% decrease of emissions per unit of GDP. New
figures suggest an extra 4.8% drop in emissions, as investment in renewable
energy infrastructure continued to rise.
Source: The Guardian
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