Beijing aims to slash coal use

The Beijing municipal government has vowed to slash the capital's consumption of coal by more than 50 percent over five years based on 2012 levels, according to a clean-air action plan issued on Monday.

With the plan, local government is aiming to reduce the proportion of coal used within the city's total energy mix to below 10 percent. Pollution from coal-fired emissions is a major contributor to Beijing's smog, especially during the winter.

The plan aims to reduce the amount of fine particulate matter to 60 micrograms per cubic meter by 2017, which would be a 25 percent drop from 2012 levels. This requires the capital to slash 13 million metric tons of coal consumption over five years.