China to increase coal production by 30% by 2015 - uh oh

China is aiming to increase its coal production by about 30 per cent by 2015 to meet its energy needs, the Government has announced, in a move likely to fuel concerns over global warming.

Land and Resources Ministry chief planner Hu Cunzhi said the Government planned to increase annual output to more than 3.3billion tonnes by 2015.

Or as Joseph Romm at ClimateProgress puts it, China announces plan to single-handedly destroy the climate.

In short, from 2007 to 2015, China will increase its coal production by an amount equal to two-thirds of the entire coal consumption of the United States — an amount that surpasses all of the coal consumed today in Europe, Eurasia, the Middle East, Africa, and Central and South America.

Changing China’s rapacious coal plans will arguably be Obama’s single greatest challenge in terms of preserving a livable climate and thus the health and well-being of future generations

This is really a staggeringly disappointing and frightening announcement.  It had seemed like China was starting to come around and realize they can't continue with business as usual without dire consequences, especially with their reaction to Obama's selection of Chu as Energy Secretary.

Bad, bad news.

WOW. I don't know what to say to that.

I remember seeing on television a year or so ago. A Chinese government spokesperson talking to an interviewer on this subject and he said that they were building something like 2-3 new coal fired power stations a month. Which is crazy. However on the news i remember hearing that China has committed to improving energy efficiency by 20% by 2010.

http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0427/p02s01-wogi.html?page=1 (page 2 is most relevant)

Yeah that's the kind of thing I was talking about.  But increasing coal production by 30% more than eliminates the reductions from energy efficiency.

Yeah that is true.