China Coal Heating Ban Improves Beijing Air Quality but Raises Rural Energy Costs

Heating Ban Improves Beijing Air Quality

China: China has been working to improve air quality, particularly in and around Beijing, by banning residential coal heating and mandating a shift to natural gas or electricity. Natural gas is three times more expensive than coal or electricity, and millions of rural homes around Beijing were required from around 2017 to dismantle small coal furnaces and transition to cleaner alternatives, supported initially by generous subsidies and strict enforcement. The central government also banned coal burning for residential heating in much of Hebei province, which has a population of 74 million, to curb pollution in the capital. As a result, Beijing’s air quality has improved significantly, with air rated good to moderate on 95.3% of days last year, compared to 55.9% in 2013, reflecting lower levels of PM2.5 and other criteria pollutants.

However, as subsidies for natural gas are being phased out, energy costs have risen, and many rural households struggle to afford alternative heating sources. For some elderly couples, winter heating expenses now exceed their pension income, leading to heat rationing during cold months. Although electric heat pumps are an option, installation costs exceed USD 2,800, and no government subsidies are provided for them, making them unaffordable for many homeowners. Consequently, some villagers have reportedly resorted to secretly burning firewood, despite bans on both coal and firewood for residential heating. While residential coal use emits significant criteria pollutants, China’s coal-fired power plants, which generate over 50% of central station electricity, are equipped with advanced environmental control technologies to limit such emissions.

In contrast, the United States has reduced criteria pollutants without compromising energy affordability. Air quality improvements were already underway before the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970, which mandated reductions in six regulated pollutants: carbon monoxide, lead, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, ground-level ozone, and particulate matter. Between 1970 and 2023, combined emissions of these pollutants declined by 78%, even as coal-fired power plants at times supplied up to 52% of U.S. electricity and still account for about 17% today.

Source: IER