Premier Wen Jiabao's latest call urging governments at all levels to use an "iron hand" to shut inefficient enterprises is a last-ditch attempt to meet the country's energy saving pledge.

With less than eight months left, China's chance to cut energy intensity by 20 percent between 2006 and 2010 seems rather slim at best.

After a hard-won decline of 14.38 percent in energy consumption per unit of GDP between 2006-2009, China saw a 3.2 percent rebound in energy intensity in the first quarter of this year due to lax controls over energy-consuming and polluting sectors in the face of the debilitating global downturn.

However, even if it looks like a losing battle now, we should spare no effort in the fight, as the five-year energy goal is only the beginning in the country's long-term push toward sustainable development.

The central government has now come up with a new timetable for action, requiring that updated targets for eliminating inefficient capacity should be distributed to local governments and enterprises by the end of this month. Inefficient enterprises should all be shuttered by the end of the third quarter, it has directed.

Continuing in their efforts to meet the energy saving goals for the 11th Five-Year Plan, the central authorities have also explicitly warned that local officials and company executives would be held accountable if specific energy-efficiency targets are left unmet by the end of the year.

Such tough talk is clearly overdue, but not enough.

In fact, policymakers should have long ago applied the "iron hand" in order to stick to the planned five-year target.

The time is nigh to show more commitment to energy-saving efforts and sustainable development.