Chinese, blue sky

One in four tons of consumer coal in the world is used to produce electricity in China. Therefore, the future of coal is strongly connected with the Chinese energy sector. Since 2016, China's electricity consumption is the basis for a global increase in coal consumption, which means that global demand for coal is based primarily on one economy. According to the report of the International Energy Agency "Coal 2018, Analysis and forecast 2023", the society can expect an increase in the energy network of transport, heating and increased energy consumption by the growing middle class in China. Nevertheless, it is assumed that China's economy currently go over a transformation and with time their demand for electricity will decrease and stop further coal production growth by 2020.
China's main priority is "fighting for the blue sky". Climate policy and activities related to the clean air hold down the demand for coal. The most important goal of these actions is to reduce the direct use of coal and small boilers in flats in the commercial and industrial sectors. Manufacturers from industries such as cement and steel are also focused on ensuring the best possible air quality in China.
The use of gas for heating and industry as well as renewable energy sources is the most important issue within the framework of climate policy. At the same time, cleaner use of coal is one of the basic assumptions of the state's strategy. The only sector in which we can observe a significant increase is the conversion of coal into liquids, gas or chemicals. Considering all the above-mentioned factors, the International Energy Agency in their report "Coal 2018, Analysis and forecast 2023", maintains their forecast from last year's report, which says that coal in China has slowly entered in structural decline in their consumption, no more than 1% on average annually.