Beijing is to phase out the use of coal, replacing it with cleaner
fuels, in a bid to speed up the capital's environmental protection
process.
The major coal supplier for Beijing, Beijing Coal Corporation, on
Wednesday renamed itself Beijing Jintai Hengye Co Ltd, getting rid
of the word "coal," since coal is no longer the main heating and
cooking fuel in the city.
Statistics provided by the corporation show the total consumption
of coal in the capital over the last decade has plunged from over
13 million tons a year to 2 million, with coal used by residents
dropping from 2.8 million tons to about 700,000 tons annually.
And some districts, such as Haidian District in Northwest Beijing,
have already proposed adopting "coal free" heating and fueling
systems.
It
is estimated that the market for coal will shrink further as
cleaner fuels -- natural gas, electricity, liquefied petroleum gas
and coal gas-- gradually take over the market, said Wang Yongqing,
of the Beijing
Environmental Protection Bureau.
All boiler plants producing heat in the city have been urged to
switch to cleaner fuels as burning coal produces a lot of sulfur
dioxide and floating particles that pollute the air.
By
the end of this year, 1,500 boilers are expected to undergo the
transformation, said Wang.
Beijing Thermodynamic Group, which provides the capital with more
than half of its heat, uses cleaner fuels exclusively.
Most companies under the coal corporation have changed their
business in the wake of the contraction and only 500 employees now
are working in the industry in Beijing, compared with 15,900 in
1991.
Most of the former "black-collar" workers have turned to work in
such fields as real estate and the service sector, becoming
"blue-collar" workers.
A
natural gas pipeline from Shaanxi Province to Beijing has been
planned to supply 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas to the
capital so that 80 per cent of all the fuel used will be pollution
free by 2008.
Beijing promised a Green Olympics to the world. According to the
official website of the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee, Beijing
invested 5.97 billion yuan (US$700 million) in 1999 in a series of
environmental projects.
(China
Daily November 30, 2001)