Just two years ago, Beijing ambitiously promised that carbon emissions would peak and start to fall before 2030. That required big cuts to burning coal. This threatened the future earnings of China’s black stuff miners. China is now in hurried retreat from green commitments. One of its most promising sectors — coal-to-chemicals — stands to lose the most.
The damage has already begun. Inner Mongolia Yitai Coal has just suspended the construction of a Rmb16bn ($2.4bn) coal-to-chemicals plant in northern Xinjiang.
Beijing had bet big on converting plentiful coal to chemicals, fertiliser and coke as a contributor to fresh growth. Two years ago, relatively low costs and excess capacity at local chemical groups gave China an edge.
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