China to reduce coal consumption for better air

China will slash coal consumption by 160 million tonnes in the next five years to reduce air pollution, according to an action plan released on Friday.[Special Coverage]

Jointly released by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) and the Finance Ministry, the 2015-2020 action plan on the efficient use of coal underlines the country's efforts and target for greener energy use.

Reducing coal consumption will involve eliminating outdated production capacity and using cleaner energy such as hydropower, nuclear, wind and solar, said the action plan.

The highlight of the action plan is using fiscal and financial policies to support coal consumption cuts by pumping more funds and financing to battle pollution, said Gao Yunhu, a senior official of MIIT.

Currently, China's coal consumption accounts for about 66 percent of primary energy use, 35 percentage points higher than the world average.

China aims to bring its share of non-fossil energy to 15 percent by 2020 and 20 percent by 2030.

According to the annual government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang Thursday, the Chinese government plans to reduce energy intensity, or units of energy per unit of GDP, by 3.1 percent in 2015.