The State Council, or the Cabinet, issued a national decree on Monday, with a series of energy-saving regulations on both fully and partly state-funded departments and organizations.

Following last week's rules on energy conservation in civilian buildings, the move came as part of the government's ambitious plan to reduce energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 20 percent and major pollutant emissions by 10 percent by 2010 from the 2005 levels.

State-funded units at or above the county levels must have offices that supervise energy use and audit energy consumption.

Reports on energy use must be made each year and handed in to the energy management offices before March 31.

Departments must make annual energy-saving plans, and take specific implementations, such as using energy-friendly products; new building projects and building renovations must match energy conservation standards.

China announced last week that it had improved energy efficiency as its per-unit energy consumption was down 2.88 percent in the first half over the same period last year.

The decree, signed by Premier Wen Jiabao and made public on the government's official website, is to take effect on October 1, 2008.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2008)