NW China province to cut coal consumption to battle smog

XI'AN - Northwest China's Shaanxi province pledged to reduce coal consumption by 10 million tonnes in 2017 to ease smog, the provincial development and reform commission announced on Saturday.

It is the province's biggest coal consumption-cutting plan in recent years, the commission said.

The plan will mainly focus on the Guanzhong area, which includes six cities and two districts, including the provincial capital Xi'an, Baoji city and Xianyang city, where the coal consumption per square kilometer was twice the provincial average last year, according to statistics.

New energy will be promoted to replace coal for both enterprises and households, according to Su Yuanlin, deputy head of the commission.

The government will increase investment in natural gas and electric power companies, build more gas pipelines, and offer subsidies for households.

Emissions from coal are cited as a cause of the high concentration of breathable toxic particulate matter, known as PM 2.5, which causes smog.