China aiming for aggressive coal cuts by 2020

China aims to cut the capacity of its coal mines by 300m tonnes a year until 2020 even as production and consumption of the fuel increases, according to the country’s top economic planner. Beijing is targeting output of 3.9bn tonnes of coal in 2020, up from 3.75bn tonnes in 2015, said the National Development and Reform Commission, adding that consumption will rise to 4.1bn tonnes from 3.96bn tonnes over the same period. Under the plan, revealed at the end of last week, the NDRC will cut 800m tonnes of “outdated” and inefficient coal capacity each year while adding 500m tonnes of “advanced” capacity. The reductions will be concentrated among smaller mines in the north-east.  According to the Financial Times, Surging coal prices were among the biggest surprises in commodity markets during 2016.