Urgent notice from the Ministry of Environmental Protection： coal burning can be continued for heating in areas where coal has not been changed to gas.

　　(Reporter Dong Xin) The Beijing Youth Daily reporter was informed that the Ministry of Environmental Protection recently issued an urgent document saying that all projects or places where the comprehensive management of loose coal has not been completed can continue to use coal-fired heating or other alternatives in the past. It is understood that 28 cities on the air pollution transmission channel in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei and surrounding areas are now implementing comprehensive control measures for loose coal such as "changing coal to gas".

　　Recently, due to the construction period and insufficient supply of "coal to gas" and "coal to electricity", many places in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei have been unable to provide heating, which has aroused widespread concern. Earlier, some media reported that in Quyang County, Baoding City, Hebei Province, although it has entered the heating period for more than 20 days, many rural primary schools are still not heated because the heating renovation project has not been completed. Because it is too cold, teachers can only take students to the playground to run and warm up, and some students even have frostbite. To this end, the Ministry of Environmental Protection issued this "Letter on Please Do a Good Job in Comprehensive Management of Loose Coal to Ensure People’s Warm Winter Work" to Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei and the surrounding "2+26" cities, and the document was also marked as "extremely urgent".

　　"2+26" cities specifically refer to Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, Baoding, Langfang, Cangzhou, Hengshui, Handan and Xingtai in Hebei, Taiyuan, Yangquan, Changzhi and Jincheng in Shanxi, Jinan, Zibo, Liaocheng, Dezhou, Binzhou, Jining and Heze in Shandong, Zhengzhou, Xinxiang, Hebi, Anyang and Henan.

　　According to the document, the Ministry of Environmental Protection recently found that the projects of replacing coal with electricity and gas in some areas have not been completed as planned, and the heating season gas source in some areas is tight. In order to solve the above problems, the Ministry of Environmental Protection requires, first of all, that all unfinished projects and places continue to use the past coal-fired heating methods or other alternative methods. Secondly, in completed projects and places, we must ensure the stability of gas sources and prices. In the case of problems and contradictions, gas and electricity consumption in industrial and other fields must make way for civil use. In addition, all localities should actively disclose information and explain the situation.

　　The document pointed out that in promoting loose coal control, all localities should further strengthen the comprehensive coordination of "coal to gas" and "coal to electricity" projects, and adhere to the principle of ensuring people’s warmth for the winter. The Ministry of Environmental Protection will take ensuring timely and sufficient heating for the masses in winter as the key point of strengthening supervision and inspection for comprehensive air pollution control. If inaction or chaos is found, it will be seriously held accountable according to regulations.