China reported drops of energy consumption and pollutant emission in 2007, a positive move toward its five-year environmental goals.

In 2007, China saw a 3.27-percent year-on-year drop in energy consumption for each 10,000 yuan of GDP, Wen said yesterday.

For the first time in recent years, China reported a reduction in both chemical oxygen demand, a main index of water pollution, and the total emission of sulfur dioxide, a main air pollutant, by 3.14 percent and 4.66 percent, respectively, from the previous year, the Premier said.

The country is moving closer to its ambitious goal of cutting the energy consumption used to generate a unit of GDP by 20 percent and major pollutants emissions by 10 percent between 2006 and 2010. From 2001 to 2005, the country failed to meet the environmental targets it set.

Wen attributed the reductions to the nation's energy conservation and environmental protection efforts of the past five years.

"We gave high priority to conserving resources and protecting the environment," he said.

China had shut down a large number of backward production facilities, including small thermal power plants with a total capacity of 21.57 million kw, 11,200 small coal mines, backward iron smelting facilities with a total capacity of 46.59 million tons, backward steel plants with a total capacity of 37.47 million tons and cement plants with a total capacity of 87 million tons.

At the same time, the country launched 10 major energy-saving projects and made breakthroughs in carrying out desulfurizing projects for coal-fired power plants. The premier said this year would be "crucial" for meeting the five-year targets.

He spelled out plans to close down backward production facilities in the electricity, steel, cement, coal and paper-making industries, and develop advanced production facilities in these industries.

Wind power

The country would focus on energy conservation in key enterprises and construction of key projects, and develop energy conservation and emission reduction technologies as well as clean and renewable energy sources such as wind power and solar energy, he said.

Wen stressed the need for pollution controls for major river valleys, lakes and regions, including the Huaihe River, Taihu Lake and the Three Gorges Dam area.

"The national standards will have stricter limits for the discharge of pollutants in key river valleys," Wen said.

The premier pledged that 36 biggest cities will have all waste water purified before discharging in the next two years while raising the charges for polluters "appropriately."

The government and ordinary citizens are increasingly aware of the uncomfortable fact of the environment.

According to the State Environmental Protection Administration, 26 percent of the country's surface water cannot be used for any purpose, 62 percent is not suitable for fish and 90 percent of the rivers running through cities are polluted. A World Bank report said about 750,000 Chinese die earlier due to air pollution every year.