The state of coal
China needs lots of energy, of which 70%
comes from coal, far higher than the world average of 30 per cent. (Wei 7) “China
now accounts for 47% of global coal consumption – almost as much as the entire
rest of the world combined.” (Els) China has 1,000 billions of proven coal
reserves, the third largest in the world, and “the total added value of coal
extraction and washing was RMB 358.7 Billion ($60 billion), accounting for 1.7
per cent of GDP.” (Mao 1.1 p2) Coal and other fossil
fuel mining and the industry related, such as coking, steel production, and
chemical industries, are the back bone of the economy in the loess plateau.
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| coal distribution |
The largest coal reserve and mining
industry is located in the east-to-middle sub-region of the loess plateau, the
Shanxi Province, which is called the coal capital with a coal reserve of 200
billion tons. “Since 1999, the coal output in Shanxi province has been retained
at about 250 million tons per annum. This represents 25% of the national total
output and 5.6% of the world’s production.” (Wei 6) Coal in Shanxi is of high
quality and can be produced with a low cost of labor compared to other
countries, only 20% of the total production cost (Wei 13), which makes it
competitive in the international market.
Problems
Serious environmental and political
problems has arose due to the intense development in the past few decades in
this industry. Due to the top down political system, even though there is adequate
law to check environmental cost and safety and welfare of worker. (1). The coal
industry (in China) gives out huge amount of waste and pollution. “According to
official figures, coal is responsible for 70 per cent of soot, 85 per cent of
SO2, 67 per cent of NOX and 80 per cent of CO2 emitted in the country. Under
the Chinese Government’s air quality criteria, over a third of Chinese cities
have air quality worse than Grade. Some 30 per cent of the land in China is
affected by coal-related acid deposition. In addition, by 2007, China’s coal industry
had left behind 3.6 gigatons of gangue accounting for 40 per cent of solid
waste in the country. The total sink area of coal mines currently surpasses
700,000 hectares.” (Mao 1.1 p2) (2). Coal production has a giant demand on water
supply, in areas where precipitation is little and water is scares like Shanxi.
Adding the amount of waste the companies dump into the waters, there already
exist huge and growing conflicts within the society. (Thirsty Coal 2, 2.1) (3).The
mine workers are being exploited like slaves and hundreds of private mining
company owners live extravagant lives because of failed implementation of law.
the following link gives a glimpse into the water pollution problem in coal production areas in Shanxi, a video by greenpeace:
A long way to address the problems
The problem is obvious but complicated. Serious
political measures should be taken to adjust the current situation: (1) Strict assessment
and punishment of pollution and such should take place (2). Improve liability rules
on safety of workers and damage to surrounding environment. (3). Internalize
the external cost of coal by political methods such as increase mine toll and
levy heavier pollution taxes.
Wei, W. et al. Current Issues of China’s
Coal Industry: The Case of Shanxi. Proceedings of the 15th Annual Conference
of the Association for Chinese Economics Studies Australia.
Thirsty Coal. Green peace. August 2012.
Mao, Y. et al. The True Cost of Coal.
Greenpease.
Els F. China to shut down two
coal mines each day. http://www.mining.com/china-to-shut-down-two-coal-mines-every-day-62799/
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