China energy reduction target tough to reach – state researcher

China will struggle to reach its goal of reducing energy consumption by 20 pct per GDP unit by 2010 as heavy industry continues to grow at a rapid pace, a government researcher said.

Yang Jianlong, division director at the industrial economics research department at the Development Research Center of the State Council (Cabinet), told an energy forum that heavy industry has been growing at a faster pace than light industry and that will not change in the near term.
China’s steel industry, for example, continued its rapid growth last year. Steel is a major consumer of energy.

Yang’s assessment conflicts with that of Fuqiang Yang, vice president and chief representative of the Energy Foundation in Beijing. The foundation executive told the same forum yesterday that he believes the target is within reach.

But Yang of the Development Research Center said the government can increase energy costs to reduce waste. He also said the government will apply resource taxes in line with market practices because traditional costs cannot be applied.

Forbes