The Shenhua Group is to stop extracting groundwater for their flagship coal to liquid project in Inner Mongolia’s Ordos, an area struggling with severe water shortages affecting farmers and herders. The state-owned Chinese coal company made the announcement during a meeting with Greenpeace East Asia, saying the plan was already under way. Regarding Shenhua’s dumping of toxic industrial wastewater in Ordos, which Greenpeace exposed in July 2013, they said they had made major investments in wastewater treatment facilities to guarantee improvement.
Li Yan, head of Greenpeace East Asia’s Climate and Energy Campaign, said, “Greenpeace appreciates this move by Shenhua, as they recognise that the water situation with the coal industry remains very challenging in western China. It takes serious courage for a billion dollar plant to switch water plans in the middle of their first decade. Right now, water resources in the area are still being exploited. The next step for Shenhua is to deliver their action plan and stop the damage as early as possible, while avoiding new environmental problems along the way.”