The NRDC China Coal Cap Project organized the third annual China Coal Consumption Cap and Energy Transition International Workshop in Beijing on November 1-2, 2016. Over 400 participants attended the event, including governmental officials, Chinese and foreign experts in the environment and energy field, and representatives from research organizations, enterprises, NGOs, and the media. Participants came together for a deep and open conversation on how China can implement its coal consumption cap policy in the 13th Five Year Plan so as to support supply-side reform and push for a structural energy transition. The workshop was covered by China's official press agency Xinhua and by one of the top Chinese financial magazines, Caijing. 

NRDC co-organized the global launch of the International Energy Agency's 2016 Medium-Term Coal Market Report on December 12th, 2016. This report pointed that in 2015 global coal consumption declined for the first time this century, total global demand decreased by 2.7% --driven primarily by reductions in China and in the U.S. To underscore the importance of controlling coal consumption, NRDC organized a timely expert discussion after the report release, focusing on coal's contribution to PM 2.5 pollution and on how to strengthen governance of coal consumption and emissions, through policy measures including pollution permits and coal consumption caps.