The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the nation's top economic planner, launched its "Top-1,000 Enterprise Energy Efficiency Action Plan" on Friday.

Under the program, China's 1,000 largest domestic enterprises are required to meet global energy efficiency requirements and take the lead in the field domestically as part of the country's endeavors to reduce energy consumption.

The enterprises consume one third of China's primary energy, mainly from the petrochemical, coal mining, metallurgical, electricity, transportation, iron and steel and construction materials sectors.

If this plan can be effectively carried out, 100 million tons of standard coal could be saved by 2010, said Xie Zhenhua, deputy director of the NDRC.

In October 2005, China decided to reduce energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 20 percent by 2010, and to build China into an energy-efficient and environment-friendly society.

However, the energy consumption per unit of GDP fell only 1.23 percent last year, less than one third of the average annual goal of four percent.

Recently, the government also adopted a series of new measures to meet the goal, including adjusting and canceling tax rebates on exports of high energy intensity products and promoting the application of energy efficiency technologies.

The energy consumption per unit of GDP dropped 2.78 percent in the first half of this year from a year earlier. For the first quarter of this year alone, these 1,000 enterprises saved eight million tons of standard coal, according to the NDRC.

(Xinhua News Agency September 22, 2007)