Saturday, April 19, 2014

Is This the End of China’s Coal Boom? - by Joe Romm

China's Coal Consumption Growth Rate 2003-2013. (Credit: Greenpeace East Asia) Click to enlarge.
Over half of the growth in global carbon pollution in the past decade has come just from China’s increase in coal!

And then there is the air pollution. Climate Progress has pointed out “when eight-year-olds start getting lung cancer that can be attributed to air pollution, you’ve got a problem.  When smog forces schools, roads, and airports to shut down because visibility is less than 50 yards, you’ve got a problem.  When a study finds that severe pollution is slashing an average of five-and-a-half years from the life expectancy in northern China, you’ve got a problem.”

The response by the Chinese government has been to require coal burning be cut — in some cases sharply — in China’s heavily populated eastern provinces.

Is This the End of China’s Coal Boom? - by Joe Romm

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