China continues it’s pursuit of unsafe and unsustainable coal mines.
During the first half of 2023, the global coal industry experienced a significant upswing in production, with a devastating 2.3 billion metric tons of coal being generated. This represents an increase of 4.4% compared to the corresponding period in the previous year.
Chinese mines have earned a notorious reputation for being among the most dangerous in the world. Remarkably, in the year 2022, the utilisation of coal observed an increase of 3.3%, amounting to 8.3 billion tons in China alone. It is anticipated that China, along with India and the Southeast Asian nations, will be responsible for approximately three-quarters of the total global coal consumption anticipated in 2023.
China played a significant role in extending financial support to coal-fired power plants located outside its borders from 2013 to 2018, accounting for a staggering half of all overseas public financing.
The Guardian report on the collapse of a Chinese coal mine. 2023