Beijing had pledged to scale back its coal industry, but a new report says the Chinese government has quietly restarted construction of coal-fired power plants. The report also found an increase in coal consumption.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Mark
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A joint report by environmental groups Global Energy Monitor, Greenpeace and the Sierra Club has warned China's increased coal use and a proposal to boost capacity could endanger global climate change goals.
Beijing imposed measures in 2012 and 2013 to slow the coal industry's growth. Chief among them were the tightening of credit, caps on production and the indefinite suspension of dozens of coal plants under construction.
But recent satellite images show that China has "quietly resumed" construction on dozens of previously shelved coal-fired power plants, researchers said.
China had also vowed to cap coal consumption nationally, but overall, researchers found that coal-fired generation has increased, particularly from new "coal bases" in the nation's northwest.
"Another coal power construction spree would be near impossible to reconcile with emission reductions needed to avoid the worst impacts of global warming," said Lauri Myllyvirta, analyst with Greenpeace's Global Air Pollution Unit.
Additionally, the Chinese government has also continued to finance the construction of more than a quarter of the new coal-fired plants abroad.
Under the 2015 Paris agreement, nations had pledged to cap the rise in global temperatures to "well below" 2 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit).
Coal is the most carbon-intensive of fossil fuels, and scientists have warned that the use of primary energy from coal would need to be virtually phased out by mid-century to avoid the worst consequences of climate change.
The number of newly completed coal projects worldwide fell 20 percent in 2018, and plant retirements continued at a record pace, the study said. But global demand for coal increased in 2018 by 0.7 percent, the International Energy Agency reported earlier this week.
Almost all of that growth came from Asia and especially China, where coal power generation of electricity rose by more than 5 percent.
The end of black coal mining in Germany
After more than 150 years, the industrial mining of black coal in Germany is coming to an end with the closure of the Prosper-Haniel mine in Bottrop. It marks the sad finish to an era of black gold in the Ruhr Valley.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Stratenschulte
The last shift
This will be a melancholy and nostalgic Christmas for the people of Bottrop, especially for the last coal miners and their families. Three days before Christmas Eve, the Prosper-Haniel coal mine — the last black coal mine in Germany — is set to close. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was gifted the last piece of "black gold" to be brought up and see the light of day.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Seidel
Black gold
The coal was initially stored outside for days, like here with the Prosper-Haniel tower in the background. Then it was usually taken by train to the nearest port where it was loaded onto barges or ships to be taken to consumers; a large portion of it was shipped overseas. German hard coal was in demand worldwide for its quality, as long as the price was right.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Weihrauch
Holding together proudly
The work in the coal mine was not only well paid, the miners were also held in high esteem. Their dirty, exhausting and dangerous work welded the miners together. Even now, they all call one another mate ("kumpel"). Their solidarity and camaraderie were always a reason for professional pride as can be seen here in this photo taken in Bottrop's Prosper-Haniel mine.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Heyder
Working and living
The miner operators built housing for the miners in the immediate vicinity of the pits. In the gardens, workers often kept chickens and pigs. Sometimes they'd even find room for a pigeon coop. Meanwhile, these houses have become very popular. Having a garden in the city is no small luxury.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Schulte
Mates from Anatolia
After World War II, many so-called guest workers from southern Europe and Turkey came to work in the mines alongside colleagues from Silesia and Masuria, both in today's Poland. Many of them decided to stay.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
The first cracks
The 1950s and 60s were the highpoint of the Ruhr mining industry. And yet, the first cracks in the mining business model were becoming apparent. The coal, which was initially near the surface, soon had to be dug out deeper and deeper — up to 1,500 meters underground. That was very expensive and German coal gradually became less competitive on the international market.
Image: picture-alliance/KPA
Bad for the environment
For decades the Ruhr area was notorious for its bad air. If you lived near a coking plant, freshly laundered sheets would turn dirty if you hung them out on the washing line. The image here depicts a skyline of coal, smokestacks, and smoke in Oberhausen — not far from Bottrop. Today, few people in the area miss these consequences of the coal business.
Image: Getty Images/L. Schulze
Unstable ground
Even after coal mining is discontinued, it will continue to play an important role in the lives of the people of Ruhr Valley. Time and again, the earth opens up and houses, roads or railway lines are badly damaged by the notoriously unstable ground.
Image: Imago/J. Tack
The work is never done
In the last 150 years, the Ruhr area has sunk in places by up to 25 meters (82 feet). Without intervention, the groundwater would rise again, transforming the area into a huge lake. So the water has to be pumped out — continuously. This legacy is sometimes referred to as an "eternal cost" for the more-than-five million people who live in the Ruhr area.
Image: Imago/blickwinkel
What will remain?
The omnipresent mining towers have now been demolished for the most part. Huge areas of the former complexes have been made green. Many former industrial monuments — and there are plenty of them — have been transformed into amusement parks — the best example being the Zollverein in Essen, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
