China’s energy consumption per unit of GDP falls 2.78% in first half

China’s energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product dropped 2.78 percent in the first half of 2007 from the same period a year earlier, the government announced on Monday.

The government has set the target of reducing energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20 percent between 2006 and 2010. It fell 1.33 percent last year from the previous year, only one third of the four-percent target.
Larger enterprises had made bigger progress in energy saving, said the joint statement from the National Bureau of Statistics, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Office of the National Energy Leading Group.

The statement said energy consumption per unit of industrial output for the companies whose annual sales exceeded five million yuan fell by 3.87 percent.

The government has encouraged the elimination of the often outdated, high energy-consuming, small production facilities in a bid to meet its energy saving target.

The power consumption per unit of GDP, however, climbed 3.64 percent year-on-year in the first six months, according to the statement.

Meanwhile, it said most high energy-consuming industries reported less energy consumption per unit of industrial output between January and June.

Xinhua