China could save billions of dollars by bringing coal to peak use by 2020, study finds

Bringing coal use to a peak by 2020 could save China billions of dollars in environmental costs, slash water consumption by nearly 30 per cent and prevent tens of thousands of deaths from coal-related illnesses, a study released on Thursday said.

China’s coal demand fell for the first time in over a decade in 2014, and production also dipped 5.8 per cent in the first half of this year, largely as a result of a slowdown in major downstream sectors like power, steel and cement.

But without specific measures to rein in growth, coal consumption could continue to increase until 2030, aggravating public health risks and putting pressure on China’s already strained water supplies, experts with the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC), a US environmental think tank, warned in a study released in Beijing on Thursday.

"If the timeline for the peak is set in 2020, it will benefit water resources, environment, public health, the transition to new energy sources and the creation of new green jobs," the report said.

Coal accounts for more than 75 per cent of China’s total power production. While some groups have forecast consumption could peak as early as 2019, both the China National Coal Association and the International Energy Agency have said that output would continue to rise well beyond 2020.