China encourages use of natural gas

The National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s economic planning agency, revealed policy initiatives Wednesday to encourage the transport sector’s use of natural gas, Reuters reported. For the first time, the government singled out the transport sector, including vehicles and vessels, as preferred users of natural gas. It also said it will reform the gas pricing system and more strongly tie the price of natural gas to that of alternative energy sources. The NDRC seeks to control demand for natural gas, banning its use in making methanol, while curbing its use in producing fertilizer. “It’s certainly a good policy that will see gas replacing quite a lot of diesel, which is the main fuel used in China’s transport sector and is much more polluting,” said Yan Kefeng, an analyst at Cambridge Energy Research Associates.