China to reduce coal, lessen pollution

Beijing - China will reduce coal consumption and boost energy efficiency as part of efforts to lessen air pollution, according to an action plan released by the government on Friday.

The world's top consumer will cut coal consumption by over 80 million ton by 2017 and more than 160 million ton by 2020 through efficiency measures, under the 2015-2020 plan from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

China's annual coal consumption, at about 3.7 billion ton, accounts for roughly 66% of the country's energy demand.