China’s Coal Boom Slows as Top Mining Hubs Focus on Renewable Energy

(Bloomberg) — China’s coal boom is slowing as top mining regions limit growth and steer investment to the clean energy that will replace the dirtiest fossil fuel.

Seven straight years of rising output, including a 10% surge in 2022 after nationwide power outages crippled industry, have produced a glut of coal. That’s kept prices low. But record production, which reached 4.7 billion tons in 2023, has incurred other costs, from increased fatalities among miners to poor financial performance at mining companies.