China to Boost Coal Production by 30%; Launches Coal-to-Liquid Project

China will increase its coal production to more than 3.3 billion tones by 2015, up from 2.54 billion tones produced in 2007, announced China's Land and Resources Minister. The country's energy consumption has expanded by an average rate of 5.4 per cent between 1979 and 2007, fueling an average annual economic growth of 9.8 percent. This announcement came shortly after Shenhua Group, the country's largest coal producer, said that its first coal-to-liquid project became operational on December 30, 2008. The facility is reported to be capable of producing 1 million tons of fuel annually. In 2006 China overcame the United States as the most greenhouse gas emitting country in the world. China repeatedly has defended its use of coal, emphasizing that the per capita emissions of China are far lower than those of the US and other developed nations. Read more at Carberra Times