The second pipeline will transmit coal-bed gas from Songzao in SW Chongqing Municipality to feed the energy demand of nearby cities, Ms Hu said. Still in planning, the two pipelines have not got final construction permission from the government, she said. Over 46% of China's coal mines are rich in gas, and over 1.3bn cum/yr of gas are being produced each year without getting effective use. Coal-bed gas is not only an effective alternative energy source for China, the mining and use of it could also be helpful in avoiding coal-mine accidents as well as reducing the emission of methane, a major greenhouse gas, Ms Hu said. China boasts 37tr cum reserves of coal-bed methane, the third largest in the world, next only to Russia and Canada; 60% of the gas is stored in coal beds over 1,500m deep, and is easy to be mined and developed. However, with an annual output of 100m cum, China's development of coal-bed gas still remains at a low level. The Chinese government is attaching more attention to the development of coal-bed gas from 2006 to 2010, Ms Hu said, and plans to increase its annual coal-bed gas output to 10bn cum in 2010 and 40bn cum in 2020. A compulsory index system for the minimum collection of coal-bed gas when producing one-ton of coal is being constituted by the government, she continued, and "It will be issued soon".