Peak coal use must arrive by 2020, NDRC-run think tank says

China needs to hit peak coal use by 2020 to end emissions growth by around 2030 as promised last week, Reuters reported, citing a think tank run by the country’s influential National Development and Reform Commission. Su Ming, a researcher with the Energy Research Institute (ERI), said that while peak coal use needed to come by 2020, industrialized eastern regions needed to start cutting consumption earlier if targets were to be met. Beijing alone would need to cut coal use by 99% to below 200,000 tons by 2030, ERI said.