While China suffers through the strongest cold stretch in three decades, partly due to record arctic warmth, life is becoming colder still for the nation’s coal industry.
In 2015 the industry suffered over 90 per cent losses, as the largest coal consumer shifted towards cleaner energy sources to control air pollution and build a resilient economy.
Its coal fired power generation declined, by an estimated 2.8 percent last year, contributing to a two per cent drop in carbon emissions, while coal production fell 3.5 per cent and is expected to further decline in 2016– especially after China allocated US$4.6 billion to close 4,300 coal mines.
Coal imports also crashed by about 30 per cent, the biggest drop on record, which has “snuffed out the last flicker of hope” for large coal exporters, such as Australia.
With China continuing to lead global renewable investment and clean up its economy, it appears the transition away from coal will only accelerate, yielding more economic, environmental and health benefits to China’s people.
Key Points
- Clean energy is “gaining share at coal’s expense” and it will not stop. China was the world’s leading investor in clean energies in 2015, delivering a world record in wind and solar installations. Due to waning demand from key coal-consuming sectors and air pollution controls, over 90 per cent of coal companies are suffering losses. After wiping out 70 million tonnes of coal production in 2015, China plans to cut a further 60 million tonnes of capacity this year.
- A just transition to clean energy is good for people, the economy and the climate; and the faster this happens, the better.Responsible for 708,000 premature deaths and huge economic losses in 2012, Chinese air pollution – largely caused by burning coal –has been on the wane in recent years, thanks to measure to control coal use. Evidence has shown that accelerating the clean energy transition could save hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of dollars from fossil fuel imports in China, while globally doubling the market share of renewables could boost GDP by 1.1 per cent.
- In a warming world, clean energy yields better, more stable growth. Countries that ignore clean, sustainable growth do so at their peril. As 2015 was officially the hottest year on record, with 2016 expected to be even hotter, the El Niño and a warming world are making extreme weather events and air pollution even worse. China, suffering from both, is cleaning up its economy. Yet other countries, like Australia, still don’t get it and continue to fight the transition. By doing so they risk huge numbers of quality jobs and sustainable growth opportunities, marginalising future prosperity.