China is revising a law to make it possible to impose harsher
punishment on energy lavishment, the government said Sunday, at a
time when fast economic growth is unabatedly costing excessive
energy resources.
The Financial and Economic Committee of the National People's Congress, or China's top
legislature, and the National Development and Reform Commission
(NDRC) are jointly making a proposed revision for the Law on Saving
Energy resources, which is expected to be completed later this
year, an NDRC source told Xinhua.
The law was put into effect eight years ago, but has since
banned no projects failing to meet energy-saving requirement. The
government is worrying that it is difficult to reach this year's
target of reducing energy costs for per unit gross domestic
product.
The revised law will feature strengthened enforcement and
supervision and include both incentives for saving energies and
punitive measures against energy-lavishing behavior, the NDRC said,
without giving details.
It will typically target the construction sector, which now
accounts for one-third of all energy costs in China. Construction
projects that do not meet energy-use demands will be off-limits,
the source said.
(Xinhua News Agency August 6, 2006)