Seeking to reduce air pollution, Beijing municipal's government has decided to cut coal consumption to 15 million metric tons by 2015, from 23.3 million tons in 2012, and to less than 10 million tons by 2017.

Having already transformed the energy supply of nearly 200,000 families from coal to electricity, the government plans to extend the process to a further 44,000 households.

It has also pledged to eliminate most of the coal-fired boilers in the city's downtown districts by the end of 2015.