Directions for Sustainable Development of China's Coal Industry in the Post-Epidemic Era

China's energy structure is dominated by fossil fuels, especially coal consumption, which accounts for a relatively high share. In January 2020, the COVID-19 outbreak affected the global coal market, and many countries experienced negative economic growth. Economic development requires energy consumption. In 2021, China set a target of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 in order to phase out the dependence of carbon emissions on economic development. Therefore, the aim of this article is to develop directions for the sustainable development of China's coal industry. Based on the macroenvironment and situation analysis, the article concludes that, under the influence of geopolitics, China's shortage of imported coal resources and China's continuous rise in coal demand, the share of coal in China's energy structure will not decrease significantly in the long-term. The main directions for the sustainable development of China's coal industry are to ensure the safety of coal energy storage and improve the level of safety supervision; coordinate the development of regional energy; increase the clean, efficient, and low-carbon utilization of coal; and strengthen international coal strategic cooperation.

Automated summary

China's energy structure is heavily reliant on fossil fuels, particularly coal consumption. The global coal market was impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak in January 2020, leading to negative economic growth in many countries. To reduce carbon emissions and break the dependence on economic development, China set a target to peak carbon emissions by 2030. This article aims to provide directions for the sustainable development of China's coal industry. Based on a macroenvironment and situation analysis, the article concludes that, due to geopolitical factors and the increasing demand for coal in China, the share of coal in the country's energy structure will not decrease significantly in the long term. The main directions for sustainable development include ensuring the safety of coal energy storage, improving safety supervision, coordinating regional energy development, promoting clean and efficient coal utilization, and strengthening international coal strategic cooperation.