A recent analysis of official statistics has shown that the amount of coal burned by China has fallen for the first time in this century. Chinese rapid growthin the use of the coal in last years has been the main factor to fast-rising carbon emissions that drive climate change, experts say. According to Greenpeace, the amount of coal burned in the first three-quarters of 2014 was 1-2% lower than a year earlier. This decrease contrasts with the 5-10% annual growth rates seen since the early years of the century, the analysis reveals. In relation to that, experts of Greenpeace have argued that this increase in coal consumption had undermined the efforts to fight climate change related issues. Consequently, this change represents an important and a concrete opportunity to bring climate change under control. Additionally, this turnaround could determine a positive impact on the major coal exporting countries such as Indonesia and Australia that have profited from China’s demand for the fuel. At the UN climate change summit in New York, the Chinese government has recently highlighted its commitment to significantly reduce the excessive degree of carbon emissions in the near-term. Although there are concerns and doubts, this change is the first signal that China is moving away from coal, Greenpeace says. Furthermore, the study of Greenpeace has shown that despite the current drop in coal use, economic growth had continued at 7.4% at the same time. In addition to that, data reveal that not only coal consumption for electricity is decreasing, but experts indicate that there is a very slow growth of steel and cement and a drop in both coal imports and domestic coal production. In this framework, Chinese statistical agency has noted that economic growth is increasingly aiming at the service sector instead of heavy industry, as well as new renewable energy such as hydropower and wind power, stressing the objective of the Chinese government to tackle climate change. The gLAWcal Team EPSEI project Thursday, 23 October 2014 (Source: The Guardian)

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