Chinas coal expansion may spark water crisis, warns Greenpeace
China's plan to rapidly expand large coal mines and power plants in its arid northern and western provinces threatens to drain precious water supply and could trigger a severe water crisis, a report by environmental activists Greenpeace said on Tuesday.
China intends to boost coal production in provinces including Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Ningxia, with output in those areas expected to reach 2.2bn tonnes, or 56% of the country's forecast production of 3.9bn tonnes, by 2015.
