China: less focus on GDP, more focus on the environment
By Che Yuming and Han Jie (Xinhua)Updated: 2006-12-16 15:17
To ensure that the correct signal reaches local officials, the NDRC will
brandish its policy baton and intensify supervision.
The 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 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 the NDRC.
Voracious energy consumers and big
waste-emitters will have to pay more for water and electricity than normal
factories next year, the 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 the Economics Research Institute under the NDRC.
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.
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