China's coal miners navigate uncertainty amid shift from fossil fuels to green energy

Looking at the ruins of his house, Wang Bingbing stares at an old jujube tree still blooming amid the debris, and the yard where he and his wife once kept pigs, now reduced to broken bricks.

Down in the valley, a vast coal mine is the reason for their displacement: years of excavation increased the danger of landslides, pushing Wang and his family out. To stop them from returning, officials later tore down their home.

"We truly didn’t want to go," says Wang’s wife, Wang Weizhen, with regret.

Wang’s life reflects the era when coal was a thriving, though perilous, industry. His children and grandchildren now confront the uncertainties of coal’s future—an economic and environmental challenge policymakers have not yet resolved.

As China, the world’s leading emitter of greenhouse gases, shifts toward cleaner energy, families like Wang’s risk being left behind in the country’s pursuit of sustainability. They worry about their livelihoods as the nation navigates a difficult balance between coal dependence and green energy goals.

Aged 55 but appearing older, Wang bears the scars of years in the mines. A faint mark above his right eyebrow is a reminder of an accident in his youth that claimed two coworkers’ lives. A decade ago, a liver ailment forced him to stop working entirely. Now, he and his wife rely on a monthly government welfare payment of 500 yuan.

Born in 1971 in Lüliang, a small city in Shanxi—China’s coal-rich region—Wang started working in the local mine at 18. "We were poor, and there were no other jobs," he says. "With little education, I had no choice."

As China moves away from coal, it also faces rising natural disasters, with 25 million people affected in the first half of this year, according to official reports.

Shanxi’s economy depends heavily on coal. From 2018 to 2023, over 10% of the world’s coal came from its dry, silt-filled valleys, as estimated by the Global Energy Monitor.

Yet coal remains a contentious issue in China’s strategy. The country is rapidly expanding renewables—enough wind and solar capacity was added in May to match Poland’s total electricity generation. However, coal still dominates China’s power supply, seen as crucial for energy stability and employment.

Though China leads in producing green technology like solar panels and electric vehicles, it remains the top emitter of greenhouse gases, linked to disasters like the 2021 floods in Shanxi that displaced nearly 2 million people.