China requires its nonferrous metals industry to improve energy efficiency by 18 percent by the end of 2015 to conserve resources and reduce pollution.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said yesterday that the country will be able to save energy equivalent to 7.5 million tons of standard coal if energy use per unit of industrial output in the nonferrous metals industry were to meet the target.

The energy use per unit of industrial output fell 19.6 percent in the nonferrous metals industry in the five years through 2010.

The ministry also required the industry to slash emissions of sulfur dioxide, which contributes to the production of acid rain, by 10 percent during the period.

The nonferrous metals industry used energy equivalent to 151.38 million tons of standard coal in 2011, or 4.4 percent of the nation's total energy consumption.

To achieve the targets, the government will phase out obsolete capacity in aluminum smelting and copper, lead and zinc refining, according to the ministry.