China’s northern province of Shandong aims to limit coke output to 32 million tonnes and cut coke capacity by more than 28% this year to meet the country’s climate goal commitment.

The province vowed to cut coking capacity to around 33 million tonnes in 2021 from 46 million tonnes, showed a document jointly issued by local authorities and seen by Reuters.

An official from the Shandong industry department confirmed the authenticity of the document.

The government has urged producers to lower their coke to steel ratio to around 0.4 and shut down excess capacity, the document showed.

The notice came as China pledged to bring its peak carbon emission to before 2030.

Coke is a key raw material in long-process steelmaking. Steel accounts for around 15% of China’s total greenhouse emissions.

The notice was sent to local producers on June 11, the official said. More details will be announced toward the end of the month pending industry feedback, the official said.

Shandong is China’s fifth-biggest coke producer, churning out 11.14 million tonnes in the first four months of the year.

Coke futures on the Dalian Commodity Exchange ended up 2.3% to 2,725 yuan ($425.77) a tonne on Tuesday.
Source: Reuters (Reporting by Min Zhang and Shivani Singh; Editing by Christopher Cushing)