The story of coal in China: from ornaments to critical energy supply

Coal was first used in China for ornaments starting about 6000 years ago. Its use as fuel for households and light industry began about 2000 years ago, but coal production and consumption remained low until the end of the nineteenth century due to weak industrialisation. Thereafter, a series of political events drove progressive industrialisation that required the increasing exploitation of the nation’s vast coal resources. These events were the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, the creation of the state of Manchuguo by Japan in 1932, the Communist accession to power in 1949 and the start of opening up in 1978. Advances in mining technology and expanding transport networks allowed coal to become a major source of primary commercial energy, which it remains today. Since 2012, the slowing rate of economic growth combined with the rapid expansion of renewable energy has steadily reduced the share of coal in the energy mix. Standards of safety, resource management and environmental protection were low throughout most of the long history of coal in China. Moreover, mine workers were marginalised and many local officials were directly involved in the mining. Only in this century has the government achieved some success in addressing these challenges.