Call for Greener Coal Mining Policies in China
From Coal Guru
China daily reported that a legislator has called for more policies to encourage greener exploration of coal to improve energy efficiency and reduce pollution in China
A deputy to the country’s top legislature, said energy waste is extremely severe in the coal production process, which also discharges a large amount of solid waste and dust. He said coal burning generates 70% of the emissions of suspended particulate matter
Mr Bu Changsen chairman of Shandong Energy Group, China’s second largest coal producer, said “Society is now striving to stop extravagance on the dinner table, but what should draw more attention is energy waste.”
He said “Waste on a dinner table may cost money, but energy waste kills. We can grow vegetables and breed cattle, but fossil fuels are non renewable resources.”
He also said coal mining has led to the collapse of as much as 600,000 hectares of land. To reduce such damage, Mr Bu suggested mining should use a method where waste rock is used as filler material during the exploration process.
He added “Coal will be a major component in China’s energy structure in the long term. However, the ‘golden age’ for China’s coal industry in the past 10 years has passed and it will never come back.”
In 2011, coal contributed to 68.4%of China’s total energy consumption. The National Energy Administration estimates the proportion will still be above 50% by 2030, when annual coal consumption reaches 4.5 billion tonnes.
