The sulfur dioxide emission in China fell a year-on-year 0.88
percent in the first half of this year, the first decrease in
several years, said China's top economic planner on Sunday.
Ma Kai, minister of the National Development and Reform
Commission (NDRC) said in his report to the ongoing 29th session of
the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC) that the
decrease of sulfur dioxide was due to introduction of the
sulfur-removal equipment into coal-fired power plants and efforts
to close down small plants with high energy consumption and
pollutants emission.
He said the per unit GDP energy consumption fell 2.78 percent in
the first six months than the same period of last year.
However, the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) still increased 0.24
percent than last year, Ma said.
"We can find from the figures that China is still facing serious
problems in energy saving and pollutants emission reduction," Ma
said.
He said the economic growth, especially the growth of industries
with high energy consumption and pollutants emission, was still too
rapid, which put more pressure on achieving the energy saving and
discharge reduction goals.
"A series of environmental pollution accidents, such as the
outbreak of blue-green algae in China's major lakes -- Taihu Lake,
Chaohu Lake and the Dianchi Lake this year, have sounded alarms for
us that it's difficult to sustain the economic and social
development if the energy saving and discharge reduction problems
cannot be solved properly," he said.
He said some local governments still take economic growth as the
sole criterion for evaluating officials' performance and didn't
introduce the energy saving goal into the evaluation system, which
was the main reason for the difficulties of energy conservation and
pollution reduction.
China has committed itself to improving energy efficiency -- to
cut energy consumption by 20 percent per unit of GDP, along with a
10 percent cut in major pollutants, between 2006 and 2010.
However, China missed both the energy conservation and discharge
reduction goals last year.
Its per unit of GDP energy consumption fell 1.33 percent in
2006, well short of the projected target of 4 percent.
China also failed to achieve its pollution reduction goal, with
major pollutants, including sulfur dioxide emissions and Chemical
Oxygen Demand (COD) both increasing last year.
Ma said to achieve this year's goals on energy saving and
discharge reduction, local governments will be required to add
officials' performance in increasing energy efficiency and cutting
pollutants emission to the evaluation system.
He also said local government should slow down the development
of industries with high energy consumption and pollutants emission,
speed up closing down small coal-fired power plants and steel
factories, encourage the development of projects for energy
efficiency and discharge reduction.
The central government will strengthen supervision and
inspection over energy saving and discharge reduction works, and
encourage technical innovations for them, he said.
China is soon to enact a law on recycling economy to boost
sustainable development through energy saving and reduction of
pollutant discharge as the draft was submitted to the ongoing
session of the NPC Standing Committee for first reading.
"It's essential to establish a legal system to combine energy
saving and environmental protection with economic and social
development to ensure a sustainable development," said Feng Zhijun,
vice chairman of the NPC Environmental Protection and Resources
Conservation Committee.
The committee started to draft out the law on recycling economy
in December, 2005 and collected more than 1,000 pieces of
suggestions from relevant government departments, colleges, and
local people's congresses this year to perfect the draft.
(Xinhua News Agency August 27, 2007)
