Vietnam suffering from reliance on coal

Ho Chi Minh City

COAL miner Pham Van Tuyen and his family narrowly escaped through a window as floodwaters and slurry inundated their home in north-eastern Vietnam last month. After surviving Quang Ninh province's worst torrential rains in four decades, the Tuyens still face lingering danger.

Toxic run-off from the open-pit mine left a trail of contamination, from streams near the Tuyens' home to the emerald waters of Ha Long Bay, a UNESCO World Heritage site whose islets attract more than one million visitors a year.

The disaster is stoking criticism of Vietnam's growing reliance on coal-fired electricity - a key driver of climate changes linked to freakish weather events such as the one that flooded the Tuyens' home and killed 17 other locals in late July. The nation's demand for power generated by the world's di…