China will make full use of coal as a vital part of its energy strategy, leaders and officials said during the nation’s annual gathering of parliament this week, as it bids to balance economic stability with its longer-term climate goals.
Following a speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) reiterating the importance of coal, delegates from across the country called for more investment in coal technology and new policies to shore up profits for coal enterprises.
Xi told a National People’s Congress delegation from the top coal-producing region of Inner Mongolia that China, the world’s biggest greenhouse gas emitter, was “rich in coal, poor in oil and short of gas,” and “could not part from reality.”
He said green transition was a process, and China could not simply “slam the brakes” on coal.
Xi last year pledged to “control” coal use over the 2021-2025 period and start cutting consumption in 2026, as part of China’s contribution to the fight against global warming.
However, growing energy security worries have already driven mining output to record highs and seen new coal-fired power plants go into construction.
Delegates tried to bridge the gap between developing coal and curbing emissions by calling for more investment in clean and “smart” coal technologies, including carbon capture and storage.
They also called for measures to release more supply onto the market and further develop the coal chemical industry, published minutes of closed-door meetings showed.
Support was also needed to encourage technological innovations that could transform coal power into a low-carbon energy source, said Shu Yinbiao (舒印彪), a delegate with the advisory body known as the China People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and chairman of state utility Huaneng.
China also needs to establish a long-term mechanism to ensure coal and power firms could remain profitable and guarantee supplies, the official People’s Daily newspaper quoted Shu as saying.
Jin Penghui (金鵬輝), another CPPCC delegate and head of the Shanghai branch of the central bank, called for public funds to be made available to boost efficiency and reduce emissions from coal.
Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized two armored cars carrying tens of millions of euros in cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said on Friday. The Ukrainians were released on Friday, following their detention on Thursday, but Hungarian officials held onto the cash, prompting Ukraine to accuse Hungary’s Russia-friendly government of illegally seizing the money. “We will not tolerate this state banditism,” Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrii Sybiha said. The seven detained Ukrainians were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, who were traveling in the two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and
Kosovar President Vjosa Osmani on Friday after dissolving the Kosovar parliament said a snap election should be held as soon as possible to avoid another prolonged political crisis in the Balkan country at a time of global turmoil. Osmani said it is important for Kosovo to wrap up the upcoming election process and form functional institutions for political stability as the war rages in the Middle East. “Precisely because the geopolitical situation is that complex, it is important to finish this electoral process which is coming up,” she said. “It is very hard now to imagine what will happen next.” Kosovo, which declared
MORE BANS: Australia last year required sites to remove accounts held by under-16s, with a few countries pushing for similar action at an EU level and India considering its own ban Indonesia on Friday said it would ban social media access for children under 16, citing threats from online pornography, cyberbullying, online fraud and Internet addiction. “Accounts belonging to children under 16 on high-risk platforms will start to be deactivated, beginning with YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, Bigo Live and Roblox,” Indonesian Minister of Communications and Digital Meutya Hafid said. “The government is stepping in so that parents no longer have to fight alone against the giants of the algorithm. Implementation will begin on March 28, 2026,” she said. The social media ban would be introduced in stages “until all platforms fulfill their
Counting was under way in Nepal yesterday, after a high-stakes parliamentary election to reshape the country’s leadership following protests last year that toppled the government. Key figures vying for power include former Nepalese prime minister K. P. Sharma Oli, rapper-turned-mayor Balendra Shah, who is bidding for the youth vote, and newly elected Nepali Congress party leader Gagan Thapa. In Kathmandu’s tea shops and city squares, people were glued to their phones, checking results as early trends flashed up — suggesting Shah’s centrist Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) was ahead. Nepalese Election Commission spokesman Prakash Nyupane said the counting was ongoing “in a peaceful manner”
RSS