Shanxi province defies Beijing coke rules

The region has fallen behind the campaign to switch rural households from coal to gas for heating.

Shanxi province, China’s top coal and coke producing region, has relaxed environmental policies regarding its coking industry despite repeated orders from Beijing to curb production, a report by Reuters revealed.

The Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) said the province had allowed and encouraged the expansion of coke capacity and had also fallen behind on a campaign to switch rural households to using gas rather than coal for heating.

About 30% of households with gas boilers installed had not been connected to a gas pipeline as of November 2018, the MEE said, adding that Shanxi plans to add more than 10.7 million tonnes in new coking production capacity despite the low utilisation rate of current plants.

Some residents had resumed burning coal for heating due to a lack of gas supplies and high prices, the ministry said.

Read the full report here.