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Thursday, February 25th, 2016

The World’s Biggest Climate Culprit Will Shut Down 1,000 Coal Mines This Year

Author:     James West
Source:     Mother Jones
Publication Date:     Tue Feb. 23, 2016 1:13 PM EST
 Link: The World’s Biggest Climate Culprit Will Shut Down 1,000 Coal Mines This Year
Stephan:   Here is some good news about coal for the Earth and all life living in its biosphere. The Chinese are moving much more quickly than the U.S. to exit the carbon energy era -- perhaps because the Chinese government is clear that climate change is real and pollution is bad while the Republican Party in the U.S. doesn't think either are real issues. As a result I think China is going to dominate the noncarbon power era and make trillions equipping the rest of the nations with energy technologies that do not involve carbon. It will create tens of thousands of jobs.
Chimneys spew pollution in an ailing industrial city in China's northeast. Credit: Mark Henley/Ropi/Zuma Press

Chimneys spew pollution in an ailing industrial city in China’s northeast.
Credit: Mark Henley/Ropi/Zuma Press

The world’s top coal producer, and the biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, will shut down 1,000 coal mines this year. (emphasis added)  It’s a move that will simultaneously cool off China’s over-supply of dirty coal and help tackle the country’s air pollution crisis—with even deeper cuts to come.

The news was confirmed on Monday by China’s National Energy Administration, and first reported by Xinhua, the state-run outlet, after detailed plans to slash coal consumption were issued earlier this month by the country’s powerful executive body, the State Council. The move will accelerate China’s well-documented shift away from coal.

The news comes as a Chinese firm topped a reputable global ranking for wind energy production for the first time, besting US giant General Electric. Chinese companies already lead the world in solar energy production.

Plans to curb coal in China have been shaping up for some time […]

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