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Give More Attention to Coal Industry, Says CPPCC Member
Give More Attention to Coal Industry, Says CPPCC Member
A member of China's top advisory body, the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, has urged the government to give more attention to the country's ignored coal industry in its 10th five-year plan for 2001 to 2005.
Speaking Thursday at a plenum of the fourth session of the Ninth National Committee of CPPCC, Wang Senhao complained that the over supply of coal has led to less government attention to the industry.
"As a result, China's coal industry has fallen into a depression, input into production and safety has been seriously insufficient, and the income of coal miners has dropped." Wang said.
He claimed that the situation has produced a factor of instability to society, hence the government must change its policy and start looking for a solution to the oversupply of coal and pollution of coal burning.
In his point of view, the oversupply of coal is relative and temporary. China's per capita energy consumption is very low, equivalent to about one ton of standard coal only, or half of the world average.
"With the development of the economy and the improvement of people's standing of living, demand for energy and coal will surely rise," he said.
Coal only produces pollution when it is burnt, so he said what should be done is for consumers to use advanced burning technology and pollution control means, instead of replacing coal by oil or gas, or blaming the quality of coal.
To turn around the coal industry, Wang said the government must step up its administration of the sector.
The CPPCC National Committee member advocates the setting up of large group companies.
In the long term, the energy industry will have coal as its raw material and electricity the end product. Wang hence called for the forming of coal-electricity or coal-steel conglomerates.
He also suggested setting up large coal-chemcial plants or coal-liquefying plants to reduce independence on imported oil.
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