China Vows Funding to Support Green Production

CHINA: July 25, 2007

BEIJING - China's finance ministry will beef up its fiscal support for resource conservation in the second half of 2007, Finance Minister Jin Renqing said in a statement published on Tuesday.

Jin did not provide detailed figures, but said the increased spending would focus on building a system for calculating, auditing and supervising energy consumption and emissions.

Jin also said that the country's top 10 energy-saving programmes, sewage and drainage systems in western cities and the closure of polluting factories in poor regions would receive support.

The top 10 energy-saving programmes, designated by the National Development and Reform Commission, the top economic planning agency, range from environmentally friendly lighting to furnace upgrades.

In a statement on the ministry's Web site, Jin said China would also adjust resource and energy tax policies, to charge more on pollutants and encourage energy-efficient production.

After long pursuing growth at almost any cost, China is increasingly focusing on cleaning up its environment and making its economy less resource-intensive.

The country reduced its energy consumption per unit of economic output by 1.33 percent in 2006 -- far from its goal of 4 percent.

All provinces and regions except for Beijing missed their energy saving targets last year.

The targets are part of efforts to minimise carbon emissions and rein in the country's soaring demand for imported resources.

REUTERS NEWS SERVICE