China's top authorities will unleash a storm in government
departments next year by obliging officials to control GDP growth
and pay much closer attention to the environment.
Local officials should make protection of the environment a key
priority. They no longer have to vie for GDP growth to the
exclusion of all else. That is the message the central government
sent during last week's national meeting mapping out economic
policies for 2007.
The central government listed eight economic priorities for next
year, and environmental protection came in third place, just after
economic macro-control measures and agricultural development.
"(All officials) must understand the new priorities, take them
on board and do everything they can to achieve a practical
improvement in reducing energy consumption and pollution," a
statement issued at the conclusion of the Central Economic Work
Conference said in unusually stern language.
To prevent further deterioration of the environment, China last
year set an energy consumption reduction target of 20 percent in
the five years from 2006 to 2010. The 2006 target is 4 percent down
on the previous year.
But officials have failed to fulfill the 4 percent quota this
year. A survey conducted in the first half of the year found that
energy consumption was rising instead of tumbling.
Authorities used the words "very hard" to describe the
difficulties they are facing in reducing energy consumption to the
target level.
China's economy is expected to steam ahead at more than 10
percent in 2006.
The central government has decided to make the reduction of
energy consumption and pollution the key to restructuring its
economy in 2007.
"Cutting energy consumption and pollution is the most effective
approach to restructuring our economy and improving our economic
efficiency," said Ma Kai, minister in charge of the National
Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
Analysts said the year 2007 will be vital to achieving the
five-year target, and one that must yield visible results.
To ensure that the correct signal reaches local officials, NDRC
will brandish its policy baton and intensify supervision.
NDRC said it will establish a set of mechanisms "as soon as
possible" to set, evaluate, and monitor energy consumption
reductions achieved by local governments and key state-owned
enterprises, Xinhua News Agency has learned.
In addition, the government will intensify supervision of key
energy-consuming industries such as iron and steel, nonferrous
metal, coal, electricity, petrochemicals, construction materials
and those that consume more than 10,000 tons of coal a year.
Criteria for the establishment of high energy-consuming ventures
will be made more restrictive, with the level of energy-consumption
a key factor in determining approval by NDRC.
Voracious energy consumers and big waste-emitters will have to
pay more for water and electricity than normal factories next year,
NDRC said.
"Next year's policy will be tougher than this year's, and
implementation of the policy will be more forceful," said Wang
Xiaoguang, an economist with NDRC's Economics Research
Institute.
The policy will contain specific details on energy consumption
reduction and waste discharge targets, he said.
In addition, the use of new environment-friendly technology will
be encouraged. The Ministry of Commerce said imports of such
technology and equipment will be expanded next year.
(Xinhua News Agency December 16, 2006)