China expands switch from polluting coal heating in 2018 - environment minister

FILE PHOTO: Chinese Environment Minister Li Ganjie attends a news conference on the sidelines of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 17, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer

BEIJING (Reuters) - China expanded its coal-to-gas and coal-to-electricity projects to 35 cities in 2018 from 12 cities the previous year, China's environment minister, Li Ganjie, said on Monday, as the world's second-largest economy stepped up its fight against smog.

China's winter heating programme used to burn an estimated 400 million tonnes of coal a year, and switching it to cleaner types of fuel was identified as a major part of the country's war on pollution, now in its sixth year.