China has set a target to cut its total energy consumption by about 20 per cent and emissions of major pollutants by 10 per cent by 2010, a target set in 2006.
"Meeting the energy saving and emission reduction targets set in the 11th five-year plan (2006-2010) remains an arduous task" State Councillors were told at a meeting of the State Council or the cabinet presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao.
In his government work report early this year to the 11th National Peoples Congress, Chinas top legislature, Wen said the country saw a 3.27 per cent year-on-year drop in energy consumption for each 10,000 yuan of Gross Domestic Product.
The cabinet said industries with high energy consumption and pollution should be "resolutely curbed" and the land use, energy consumption and environment impact assessment considered in clearing new projects, state-run Xinhua news agency said.
With performance in conserving energy and reducing pollutant emissions factored into administrative evaluation, those failing to meet the goals would be put under public scrutiny, it said.
Small thermal power plans with a generation capacity of 13 million kilowatts would be closed this year.
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Outdated production capacity in cement, aluminium electrolysis, paper making, iron and steel industries should be eliminated, the cabinet said.
Environment-friendly construction materials should make up over 80 per cent of projects by the end of 2008, it said.
China, which has overtaken the US as the world's largest carbon polluter, reported a drop in both sulphur dioxide emissions and carbon oxygen demand, a measure of water pollution, last year.