75,000 Beijing households bid farewell to coal stoves

BEIJING -- An extra 75,000 households in Beijing can use clean-energy-fueled heating facilities instead of highly polluting coal stoves this winter, local authorities said Wednesday.

In a campaign to replace coal with cleaner fuel, Beijing has phased out coal-fired heating facilities in 75,000 households during the first ten months of this year, reducing the city's annual coal use by 225,000 tonnes, according to Beijing Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau.

Small stoves in Beijing's suburban and rural areas, not covered by the central heating system, have been blamed for worsening the city's smog during the winter.

By shifting to clean fuel, such as electricity and gas, the city can cut the annual emission of 2,250 tonnes of smoke and dust, 1,530 tonnes of sulfur dioxide and 450 tonnes of nitrous oxide.