China has issued the draft of a law which would look to impose a national cap on coal consumption and a ban on the import of low-quality coal with a new air pollution law, aimed at strengthening the country's efforts to fight smog.
China is the world's biggest consumer of coal, which provides nearly 80 percent of the country's electricity. The new law would make way for a mandatory cap on consumption to be set in the next five-year plan that will run from 2016.
"The State will ban the production, import, sale and combustion of coal that does not meet quality standards, and will encourage the burning of high-quality coal that has undergone washing and selecting," the draft said. The draft didn't spell out what the new standards for import will be, but industry sources say the recommendation from the National Energy Administration is that coal with a sulfur content of more than 0.6 percent and ash content of more than 15 percent be banned.
Importers bringing in coal that does not meet approved levels will be slapped with a fine 1-3 times the value of cargo, according to the draft regulation.
In early August, the capital Beijing announced plans to ban coal sales and use in its six main districts and other regions by the end of 2020.
More detailed information on China can be found in Carbon Tracker's report The Great Coal Cap: China’s energy policies and the financial implications for thermal coal.
Coalmine photo by Bert van Dijk
Coal barge photo by Rose Davies