China to Cap Coal Use in 2020

According to details released by China’s State Council on Wednesday, the country’s new energy strategy will see coal consumption capped at 4.2 billion tonnes in 2020, the New York Times reported. The strategy follows last week’s announcement that China and the United States had signed a deal to cut emissions.

As quoted in the publication:

The cap on coal use in 2020 is not necessarily a peak. In theory, coal consumption might increase beyond 2020, but some researchers say economic trends show the rate of growth in coal use slowing in coming years and peaking about 2020. That means the State Council’s timeline is consistent with the findings of those researchers. The numbers announced Wednesday might be further formalized in China’s next five-year plan, whose details will be released around March and which will guide national development from 2016 to 2020.

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