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Coal left out in the cold as China shifts to clean energy

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Creative Commons: Greg Goebel, 2008

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.

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