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)