BEIJING—China's government pledged to reduce overall coal use in eastern parts of the country and said it would cut dependency on the fuel nationwide, as leaders struggle to respond to rising public concern over choking levels of pollution.

The State Council, the Chinese government's cabinet, said in a new plan to reduce pollution published on its website Thursday that it would stop approving new coal-fired power plants in industrial centers such as Beijing and Tianjin in northern China, and the Yangtze and Pearl River Deltas in eastern and southern China.

China has long tried to tackle pollution from coal, which now accounts for around 70% of the energy mix, but has struggled to curtail coal consumption because of limited domestic alternative-energy resources. On Thursday the government said it aimed cut coal's portion of the fuel mix to less than 65% by 2017. The statement reaffirmed plans to renovate existing coal-fired power plants to burn coal more cleanly.

Since pollution levels surged last winter, such efforts have accelerated and the government has made repeated pledges to curtail urban air pollution. The new targets appear generally in line with leaders' recent statements. The plan largely focuses on developed eastern areas, but says little about how to control pollution in rapidly developing parts of western China. It is also unclear how new targets will be measured or enforced, which has been a long-standing challenge in lowering overall pollution levels.

The plan described China's air-quality situation as "grim" and said stifling levels of fine particulate matter in the air had "harmed people's health and affected social harmony and stability."