Focus on Arts and Ecology

Caixin reports that four million homes in northern China will have cleaner heating systems installed in 2018, according to the Minister of Environmental Protection (MEP), speaking at the National Environmental Work Conference.
 
The 2017 campaign to switch domestic heating systems from coal to gas or electricity met resistance after natural gas supply shortages left some homes without heat. (chinadialogue published more analysis here) 5.78 million homes were converted from coal to other sources of heating in 2017, of which 3.94 million were in 28 cities in northern China.
 
Environment Minister Li Ganjie pledged that natural gas supplies would not be an issue in 2018. The MEP conducted an investigation into the situation in northern China and found that 1,200 villages out of 25,000 surveyed had faced issues. At the end of January, the Hebei Development and Reform Commission issued a statement to the effect that no new coal to gas projects would be undertaken in 2018; instead, the province would dedicate the year to completing projects started in 2017. The article states that Hebei provincial officials and MEP officials are in communication to resolve this contradiction between their policies.