China—the green dragon
Coal is on its way out as Beijing oversees a shift towards clean energy
In the Hebei region, one of the big three provinces in the so-called "Jing-Jin-Ji" grand industrial plan that also involves Beijing and Tianjin, the government has ordered the automotive industry to boost its production of "new-energy" vehicles (EVs) to 0.5m a year. Simultaneously, the local administration has set a target of installing 1,000 electric charging stations by 2020, covering highway-service areas, airports and other busy locations. It's all being done under the grandly titled Hebei New-Energy Automotive Industry 135 Development Plan, a vital element of the overall Jing-Jin-Ji project to slash the proportion of coal used in total energy consumption to below 50%. In these new-energ
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