Funding gaps hinder efforts to end use of coal
Print Edition
Yang Zhongqi stopped using coal-fired heating last year after the government offered him about 2,000 yuan (US$300) to replace his old coal furnace with a cleaner energy source.
A resident of Niecun Village in Anyang City in central China鈥檚 Henan Province, Yang paid 1,410 yuan for a gas heater and 1,300 yuan for gas.
鈥淚t is more expensive than burning coal, but it is acceptable and more convenient,鈥 he said.
Yang鈥檚 home is among 200,000 households in Anyang who have stopped burning coal for heating in winter with the government鈥檚 support.
Air quality usually worsens in late autumn and winter in northern China because there is less wind and an over-reliance on coal. To improve air quality, China is pushing the use of clean fuel during winter.
The central and local governments are spending vast sums of money to ensure clean winter heating in northern China.
Local governments have taken measures to reduce coal consumption, improve coal quality, raise emission standards and curb the hazardous burning of coal.
In Henan, the provincial government expects at least 50,000 more households to switch from using coal-fired heating to gas or electric power by the end of the year.
Kang Ailing, a resident of Beiliwan Village in Jiaozuo City, replaced her coal stove with an air conditioner. Besides receiving 2,000 yuan from the government, Kang was also entitled to receive as much as 1,000 yuan from the government for using electricity for heating.
鈥淲e used to worry about the safety of burning coal in the winter, but not anymore, with our new air conditioner,鈥 she said.
In Tianjin, which borders Beijing, 1.21 million households would switch from coal-fired heating to gas and electricity by the end of next year, said Wen Wurui, director of Tianjin Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.
Wen said 610,000 households would switch to clean energy by the end of the year, and another 600,000 households would do so next year.
Tianjin plans to cut yearly coal usage by 2.6 million tons this year after reducing it by 10 million tons between 2013 and last year.
China will address coal-related pollution with measures such as providing clean central winter heating in the northern region and replacing the use of coal with electricity and natural gas in more than 3 million households.
However, the coal replacement program faces challenges such as resource shortages, soaring heating costs and insufficient government financing.
Indeed, Jiaozuo City is grappling with inadequate government funding even though it will offer a subsidy of 180 million yuan to replace the use of coal this year, according to Yang Li, an official with the city鈥檚 development and reform commission.
鈥淭he funding gap is very big,鈥 Yang said.
Many officials from cities such as Jiaozuo and Anyang have suggested that the central government should increase its financial support for the program to persuade residents to stop using coal.
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