After meeting with the Central Financial Work Leading Group (CFWLG) of the Bureau of Economic Operations and the National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) it is apparent that the Chinese government is determined to implement a sound financial model to pursue sustainable development.
Under the 11th Five Year Plan, China specifically aims to reduce energy consumption per unit of GDP by 4 percent per annum, or a 20 percent reduction over five years. (see also China Briefing, Page 7, April 2006 issue at archives section on website at www.china-briefing.com). However, China’s strong growth during 2006 meant it failed to hit this target. Energy consumption though began to fall in the third quarter, but overall achieving a 1.23 percent reduction in the year over 2005.
According to the NDRC, China will increase efforts to better monitor its environmental performance this year, with more effective environmental legislation in the pipeline. The implementation of these policies will be more effectively policed. Departments such as the NDRC are studying new policies to cope with the more stringent demands on international communities on environmental protection and greenhouse gas emissions now the framework exists following the Kyoto Treaty. Indeed, the ministries concerned were all active in this area, again, with a unified approach. One of the officials at the Ministry of Commerce even setting a specific example; how in 2006 China exported 40 million tons of steel (China produced as much steel as the worlds top 15 global producers combined that year). The energy required for steel production in China was equivalent to 30 million tons of standard coal. If China had not processed and manufactured this amount of steel for export, and did not earn the income, then the energy consumption per unit of GDP last year would have dropped a further 1.26 percent. That would have provided a better attempt at reaching the stated environmental goals. The impression given now is that more and more senior officials in China are placing environmental protection ahead of GDP growth.
