Two articles on China and its use of coal; both provide a sense of what lies ahead. Mining is a dangerous business and only through the integration of modern mining practices can the risk to life and the enviroment be diminished.
China To Keep Relying On Dirty Fuels Despite Global Warming
A coal fired power plant in China.
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Feb 06, 2007
China said Tuesday it had no plans to radically change its reliance on coal and other dirty fuels, as it insisted the responsibility for global warming rested with developed countries. In the first official Chinese response to a stark UN report issued last week on climate change, foreign ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu appeared to take aim at the United States as she highlighted the importance of the Kyoto Protocol.
"You need to point out that climate changes are the result of the long-term emissions of the developed countries and the high per-capita emissions of the developed countries," Jiang said.
"Currently the developed countries should make an example in shouldering the responsibility in reducing their emission in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol."
The United States and Australia are the only two developed nations not to have signed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, a United Nations pact that commits signatory countries to cutting back their emissions of six greenhouse gases blamed for causing climate change.
However, industrialised countries face much tougher restrictions than developing nations, leading to protests from the United States and Australia that nations such as China and India should not be exempt from cutting back.
China, which relies on coal for 70 percent of its energy needs, is the second-largest emitter of climate-changing gases behind the United States and is on track to become the world's biggest polluter in coming years.
But China has repeatedly insisted its per capita output of greenhouse gases is much less than in the United States and other developed countries.
The greenhouse gas emissions of China and every other country were thrown into sharp focus following last week's UN report blaming human activities for global warming.
The report warned that the Earth's average surface temperatures could rise by between 1.1 and 6.4 degrees Celsius by 2100, amid a corresponding rise in typhoons, droughts and other natural disasters.
In another Chinese response to the report, the head of the China Meteorological Association said Tuesday the nation lacked the technology and money for a wholesale conversion to cleaner energy sources than coal.
"There are several restraints here," Qin Dahe, who was also one of the main authors of the UN report, told a press conference.
"The first is technology... the second is funding. We can try, but replacing 70 percent of China's energy consumption really takes a lot of money."
Source: Agence France-Presse
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Eighteen killed in northern China coal mine accident
by Staff Writers
Beijing, Aug 5, 2006
Eighteen miners died following a gas leak at a coal mine in northern China's Shanxi province, state media reported Saturday.
The accident occurred at around 4:00 pm Friday at the Dahuiyao coal mine in Ningwu county as 34 miners were working underground, said Xinhua news agency, quoting local officials.
Three miners escaped after the accident, it said, adding that of 14 workers rescued, one died. The bodies of the remaining 17 were found Saturday morning.
The accident occurred after part of the mine collapsed, causing a fire and gas leak in the pit, the report said.
China's coal mines are regarded as the most dangerous in the world, with 5,986 workers dying in the industry last year, according to official figures.
Labor rights groups, such as the Hong Kong-based China Labour Bulletin, say the real number of mining deaths could be as high as 20,000 each year.
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