China Meets Less Than a Third of Energy Saving Target

China, the world’s largest crude oil user after the U.S., said it cut the amount of energy consumed to generate each unit of gross domestic product by 1.23 percent last year, less than a third of a government reduction target.

The nation consumed the equivalent of 1.21 metric tons of coal to produce each 10,000 yuan ($1,290) of GDP in 2006, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a report e-mailed in Beijing today.
China aims to cut energy consumption for each unit of GDP by 20 percent in five years by 2010 and set a goal of reducing it by 4 percent in 2006, according to targets Premier Wen Jiabao announced last March. The country wants to reduce its reliance on oil imports by promoting renewable energy sources, like nuclear, solar and hydro power and is studying policies on taxing fuels.

“Based on today’s figure, it will be extremely hard for the Chinese government to meet the five-year target,” He Jun, a senior analyst with Anbound Group, a Beijing-based consultancy, said by telephone today.

“To meet the energy efficiency target requires changes to the whole society, including upgrading technology, increasing environmental input and enhancing social awareness of energy conservation,” Anbound’s He said. “It will be really hard.”

Bloomberg