China Releases Green Goals for 2011

China's resource conservation and environmental protection goals for 2011 were released by the National Development and Reform Commission on Tuesday, and related regulations are likely to be announced soon, the Shanghai Securities Times reported.

The country intends to reduce its energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 3.5 percent compared to 2010, and the water consumption per 10,000 yuan of industrial value-added output is set to see a 7 percent year-on-year dip, the report said, adding that both goals were higher than market expectations.

The water saving and energy reduction goals for this year were higher than the annual average setup of the country's 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-2015), the report said.

Industry insiders believed that institutional constructions should be set up to pave the way for energy reduction initiatives in the next five years.

Meanwhile, the NDRC also plans to raise the nation's wastewater treatment rate to 80 percent by this year. Related regulations and policies will also be released.

The Ministry of Water Resources is mulling over the establishment of regional and industrial level water saving evaluation systems, which would help boost water-use efficiency, the report said.

Other energy reduction goals, including those concerning aerial pollution discharge volume and urban domestic waste volume, were also announced, according to the report.