Official: China mining more coal but increasing wind, solar

By JOE McDONALD
AP Business Writer

BEIJING (AP) — A Chinese official says the government plans to boost coal production through 2025 to avoid a repeat of last year’s power shortages. That adds to setbacks in efforts to cut climate-changing carbon emissions from the biggest global source. China is a big investor in wind and solar, but jittery Communist Party leaders called for more coal-fired power after economic growth slumped last year and shortages caused blackouts. The deputy director of the National Energy Administration said Beijing aims for coal production to rise to 4.6 billion tons by 2025. That would be a 12% increase over last year’s 4.1 billion tons.