Shanxi will work hard to cut its energy use per unit of GDP by at least 4.6 percent this year in order to achieve the 22 percent energy-saving target that was set five years ago, according to the Shanxi delegation attending China's annual parliament session.

Li Pumin, spokesman of the National Development and Reform Commission [China.org.cn]

As China's biggest coal-mining province with a large coal-chemical industry, Shanxi relies heavily on high-energy consumption projects to boost its economy. It is one of the country's most polluted provinces.

 

Shanxi's statistics show that from 2006 to 2009, the province reduced its energy use per unit of GDP by 18.2 percent. In other words, Shanxi has already achieved about 80 percent of its target prescribed in the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010).

Shanxi plans to adopt tougher measures for the rest of the year to ensure that it reaches its goal. Officials at various levels will be held accountable for target breaches. The energy-saving programs of more than 1,000 local enterprises will be closely supervised and the province will continue to use differentiated power prices as a leverage to encourage enterprises to save energy.

Shanxi also plans to phase out the production of 1 million tons of steel and iron, 5 million tons of coal products, 10 million tons of cement, 200,000 tons of calcium carbide and ferroalloy, and 1 million kW of thermoelectricity generated by small power plants.

Any new industrial projects will be subject to stringent energy-saving scrutiny according to the law. The province hopes to invest more in research for energy-saving technologies and promote the development of energy-efficient industries.

As a nation, China also has an energy-saving target to meet. Li Pumin, spokesman of the National Development and Reform Commission, said on Sunday that China has reduced its energy use per unit of GDP by 14.38 percent in the first four years of the country's 11th Five-Year Plan. However, Li said there is still a long way to go if the country wants to reach its target of 20 percent by the end of this year.

China's National Bureau of Statistics says the country's energy use per unit of GDP only decreased by 2.2 percent in 2009.

Li blames this small decline on the bounce-back of China's economy last July.

"Since the third season of last year, high-energy consumption and high-emission industries have been growing fast. The energy use of a number of key energy-consuming enterprises has increased significantly. Some phased-out 'backward' productions were reactivated. All these have contributed to the slowdown of the decrease of energy use," said Li.

This could mean the year 2010 will be a formidable one for both regulators and enterprises.

"We are facing many difficulties and high pressure, given the 20 percent target prescribed to be finished by the end of 2010. We will have to make greater efforts to achieve it," said Li.