随着寒冷冬季天气来临，对天然气的需求增加拉高天然气价格，中国政府放松了一项禁止中国北方居民燃煤取暖的政策。
China’s Ministry of Environment has told northern regions that have not converted to gas or electric heating that they are permitted to continue using coal for the time being.
中国环保部指示中国北方地区，还未完成采暖“煤改气”或“煤改电”工程的地方可以暂时沿用燃煤取暖方式。
The push to switch industry and residences away from coal-powered heating — a move aimed at cutting the choking smog that blankets much of northern China — has caused rationing of natural gas in some provinces and a jump in prices.
让工业和居民不再燃煤、改用其他能源取暖的举措旨在缓解笼罩中国北方的令人窒息的雾霾。推行这一举措已导致一些省份只能限量供应天然气，天然气价格也大幅上升。
State-owned China National Petroleum Corp, or PetroChina, has warned that it may be unable to guarantee supply if this winter is harsher than normal, while other energy companies have taken the expensive step of renting additional gas storage facilities off the north China coast.
国有的中石油集团(CNPC)警告称，如果今冬天气比往年更为寒冷，该集团有可能无法保障天然气供应。其他能源公司不惜以高昂的成本在中国北方沿海租用额外的储气设备。
“Villages that have not converted to gas may still use coal for heating, or other substitute fuels,” the environment ministry said in a statement released on Thursday. It called for a stable gas supply to areas that had already converted to gas.
“凡属没有完工的项目及地方，继续沿用过去的燃煤取暖方式或其他替代方式，”周四中国环保部在一封函件上写道。这封函件要求已经完成“煤改气”工程的项目及地方确保气源稳定供应。
“Civilian use of gas must be prioritised over others, including industry,” it added.
“工业等领域用气用电必须为民用让路，”环保部的函件还写道。
The earlier clampdown on coal usage is part of Beijing’s push to hit environmental targets this year. The plan to clean the air around Beijing involves moving heavy industry into the hinterland, or switching coal-dependent factories to gas or on to the electricity grid.
之前的限煤令服务于北京在今年达成环保目标的努力。洁净北京附近空气的计划包括将重工业转移至内陆地区，以及在依赖煤炭的工厂推行“煤改电”或“煤改气”。
As part of the plan, the port city of Tianjin has removed 10,000 coal-fired boilers over the past few months, while the province of Hebei, which rings Beijing, has removed 33,000.
在该计划下，港口城市天津在过去几个月淘汰了1万个燃煤锅炉，而环京的河北省淘汰了3.3万个燃煤锅炉。
Authorities’ efforts to prevent rural homeowners from burning low-quality coal has varied between provinces. The Beijing government offers homeowners lower overnight electricity rates from 8pm, which some migrant workers complain are not passed along by their landlords, forcing them to forgo heat to save money.
各省市当局禁止农户燃烧低品质煤的举措各不相同。北京市政府调低了实施了“煤改电”改造的用户的夜间电价。一些外来务工人员抱怨，他们并没有享受到这一优惠政策，房东为了省钱逼迫他们别开电暖器。
In Shandong province and the mountains north of Beijing, villagers can buy cleaner-burning coal in place of the briquettes made from coal powder that are normally used. Indoor air pollution from those briquettes contributes more to illness and death than outdoor pollution, according to the World Health Organization.
在山东省和北京以北的山区，村民可以购买无烟煤，代替常用的用煤粉制作的煤块。据世界卫生组织(World Health Organization)称，燃烧这些煤块造成的室内空气污染比室外污染更可能导致疾病和死亡。
In Hebei province, officials have converted 149,000 homes to electric heaters as of November 10, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
官方的新华社称，在河北省，截至11月10日，官员们已为14.9万户家庭完成“煤改电”采暖改造。
In villages in southern Hebei, confiscation teams comprised of local government officials went door-to-door to force residents to switch away from coal, according to a local homeowner surnamed Li. “They take your briquettes and the heater and after that they don’t care. It’s up to you,” he said, adding that many neighbours had little option but to purchase electric heaters.
在河北南部的农村，一位姓李(音译)的当地农户说，当地政府官员组成的收缴队挨家挨户地强迫居民放弃使用燃煤取暖。他说：“他们没收你的煤块和炉子，然后他们就不管了。自己看着办吧。”他补充称，他的许多邻居别无选择，只能购买电采暖器。
However, some local governments around Hengshui had chosen to turn a blind eye to the use of charcoal by homeowners, Mr Li said. “They can’t freeze every peasant in Hebei!”
不过，李姓村民说，衡水周边的地方政府选择对居民烧炭取暖睁一只眼闭一只眼。“他们总不能让河北的农民都挨冻!”
Additional reporting by Archie Zhang 张祺(Archie Zhang)补充报道
