Problems with coal-to-gas policy in N. China catch public's attention

Problems with the implementation of the coal-to-gas policy in North China's Shanxi Province have caught the public's attention after a local government reportedly enforced strict measures to prohibit villagers from using coal for cooking and winter heating, generating complaints by residents.

The village committee of Nanying in Linfen, is reportedly blocking local families from using coal in stoves and confiscated stored coal from villagers' homes, according to CNR.

The committee claimed that the action was taken in response to Linfen city's 2019 implementation of a special remediation plan for bulk coal pollution, which was released in September.

The policy bans the use of coal in some areas of the city, including the Nanying village, and requires authorities in those areas to remove coal stored by local residents and to dispose highly polluting fuels.

Villagers are angry about the local government's directives and have complained about the high cost of using natural gas in winter despite government subsidies.

"In the past, heating with coal cost nearly 1,000 yuan ($142) a winter, while using natural gas for heating will double or even triple that cost," villagers told CNR.

Nanyang is not an isolated case. Similar problems have arisen elsewhere since China started the coal-to-gas project in 2013 due to local governments' stringent directives, especially in northern China.

According to media reports, six villagers have died from carbon monoxide poisoning this winter in Tangshan, Hebei, after they started to use clean coal but did not use stoves specially designed for this kind of coal.

Experts point out that even though the government has been promoting clean coal, there are no set standards for the production of this kind of coal and producers have failed to offer guidelines to consumers on how to safely use the coal, which has led to many problems.

"Some officials might be in a little bit of a rush to fulfill the environmental protection plans without taking everything into account, therefore problems arise," Zhou Dadi, a researcher at the Energy Research Institute of the Development and Reform Commission, told the Global Times on Monday, noting that the implementation of the coal-to-gas policy should not disregard the difficult conditions put on households when required to make the change.

The National Energy Bureau issued a document in July regarding resolving relevant issues in the process of promoting clean energy, which prohibits local governments from taking "one-size-fits-all" measures to have households switch from coal to gas.