Our country is continuously increasing its efforts in energy conservation and emission reduction

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Our country is making continuous efforts to reduce energy consumption and emissions. On the eve of the Spring Festival, Fujian Province demolished 6 small thermal power units (with a total capacity of 98,000 kilowatts) through blasting in the cities of Xiamen, Sanming, and Longyan, thus kicking off the nationwide effort to shut down such small thermal power units in 2008. According to the 2008 plan for phasing out small thermal power plants formulated by the **Commission for Development and Reform, 13 million kilowatts of such high-energy-consuming and highly polluting units will be shut down across the country this year, exceeding last year’s target of 10 million kilowatts. Last year, the coal consumption per kilowatt-hour of electricity generated in China’s power industry decreased by 10 grams, resulting in a savings of 40 million tons of raw coal. This is equivalent to 87 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity generated, which is the same as the amount of electricity produced by all the units at the Three Gorges Dam over an entire year. **Zhang Xiaoqiang, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that phasing out outdated small coal-fired power units and replacing them with large-capacity, high-efficiency, environmentally friendly coal-fired power units is of great significance for reducing emissions and conserving energy, for building a society that makes efficient use of resources and is friendly to the environment, for fulfilling international obligations, and for addressing climate change. 2007: **Strong push for energy conservation and emission reduction. Over the past two years, especially since last year, China has adopted a series of policies and measures to achieve the energy conservation and emission reduction goals for the period 2006–2010, with an intensity unprecedented. On April 27 last year, the State Council held a national teleconference on energy conservation and emission reduction. **The Premier delivered an important speech at the conference, outlining comprehensive measures for energy conservation and emission reduction. Subsequently, the State Council issued the \"Comprehensive Work Plan for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction,\" which outlined 45 specific action items. Energy conservation and emission reduction are being advanced with unprecedented intensity. Last year, our country accelerated structural adjustments to curb the rapid growth of industries with high energy consumption and high emissions, and stepped up efforts to phase out outdated production capacities. In the power sector, 14.38 million kilowatts of small-scale generating units were shut down, exceeding the annual targets set. Progress has also been made in phasing out outdated practices in industries such as steel, cement, and coal. Last year, the State Council also approved the \"Implementation Plan and Measures for Statistics, Monitoring, and Assessment of Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction,\" establishing a responsibility system for achieving these goals. The organizational department regards energy conservation and emission reduction as an important part of the comprehensive assessment of local Party and government leadership teams and cadres. At the same time, our country has also accelerated the implementation of key projects aimed at energy conservation and emission reduction. **On top of the 6.3 billion yuan allocated from government bonds and central budget funds at the beginning of the year, as well as the 5 billion yuan provided from the central fiscal budget, an additional 18.5 billion yuan was allocated by the central government, bringing the total to 29.8 billion yuan. This funding is used to support ten key energy-saving projects, the construction of urban sewage treatment facilities, and the development of capabilities related to energy conservation and environmental protection. In addition, our country is actively promoting energy conservation in key sectors, carrying out energy-saving initiatives involving a thousand enterprises, encouraging these enterprises to conduct energy audits and develop energy-saving plans, publishing reports on the energy usage of these enterprises, and initiating activities to compare the energy efficiency levels of key energy-consuming enterprises. As one of the key aspects of energy conservation and emission reduction, China is actively promoting the development of a circular economy, has established an evaluation index system for it, and launched demonstration projects for circular economy in 97 units as part of the second batch. Last year, our country introduced economic policies aimed at promoting energy conservation and emission reduction; it raised the feed-in tariff for desulfurization units by 0.15 yuan per kilowatt-hour, reduced the feed-in tariff for small-scale thermal power units, and stepped up the implementation of differential pricing mechanisms. It also issued the Interim Measures for the Management of Financial Incentives for Energy-saving Technological Upgrades, providing rewards to enterprises for their energy-saving technological upgrades based on the actual amount of energy saved as a result of those upgrades. At the same time, publicity on energy conservation and emission reduction in our country has been strengthened to an unprecedented extent. 17 central departments have organized a nationwide \"Nationwide Campaign for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction\". The situation regarding energy conservation and emission reduction remains severe. In the first three quarters of last year, energy consumption per unit of GDP across the country decreased by about 3% on a year-on-year basis ； Sulfur dioxide and chemical oxygen demand decreased by 1.81% and 0.28% respectively, marking the first time that both saw a decline ； The achievement of annual energy conservation and emission reduction targets will be significantly better than that of the previous year. However, a responsible official from the National Development and Reform Commission said that the situation regarding energy conservation and emission reduction in China remains extremely severe. The main issues are the rapid pace of economic growth and the persistent heavy-oriented structure of the industry. Although significant improvements have been made in the efficiency of direct energy use through greater technological advancement and improved management, the energy savings achieved are offset by this heavy-oriented structure. From a practical perspective, there are still issues such as incomplete understanding, slow progress in structural adjustment, delays in the development of key projects, imperfect policy mechanisms, inadequate supervision and management, and weak foundational work. The official said that this year is a crucial one for achieving the energy conservation and emission reduction targets set for the 11th Five-Year Plan. The Central Economic Work Conference clearly stated that energy conservation and emission reduction must be regarded as an important means to promote scientific development. Greater efforts must be made to overcome difficulties, improve market incentive mechanisms, and swiftly establish a framework for energy conservation and emission reduction in which ** plays a leading role, enterprises take the lead, and the whole society works together to carry out this effort, so as to win this tough and protracted battle. Take more effective measures to promote energy conservation and emission reduction. The central government has called for increased efforts to ensure significant progress in this area. These measures mainly include the following eight aspects: First, strengthening the target responsibility system for energy conservation and emission reduction. The organization conducts item-by-item checks to ensure the implementation of the comprehensive work plan for energy conservation and emission reduction, applies the plans and methods for statistics, monitoring, and assessment in this regard, and enforces a strict accountability system as well as a \"veto system\". Improve the energy conservation supervision system and intensify law enforcement inspections. Second, efforts should be made to phase out outdated production capacity. A plan has been issued to phase out outdated production capacity this year; 13 million kilowatts of small-scale power generation facilities will be shut down, while 50 million tons, 6 million tons, and 14 million tons of outdated production capacity in the cement, steel, and iron industries will respectively be eliminated. Accelerate the establishment of a mechanism for phasing out outdated production capacity and ensure proper resettlement of workers. Third, focus on energy conservation in key enterprises and the construction of key projects. Carry out energy efficiency benchmarking activities, establish and improve systems for energy audits and cleaner production assessments, to promote energy conservation and emission reduction in key enterprises. Accelerate the implementation of the ten key energy-saving projects to establish energy-saving capabilities as soon as possible. Improve the capacity for urban sewage treatment, and strive to achieve full collection and treatment of sewage in 36 large and medium-sized cities within two years. Fourth, improve relevant policies. In conjunction with relevant departments, increase financial and tax support for phasing out outdated production capacity, implementing energy-saving technological upgrades, and promoting energy-saving and environmentally friendly products. Financial subsidies are used to promote high-efficiency lighting products among large-scale users as well as urban and rural residents. Make good use of the revenue from differential electricity prices to accelerate the implementation of pilot programs for energy-efficient power generation scheduling. Improve the energy-saving assessment and review system for fixed-asset investment projects, and formulate and revise a series of mandatory **standards for energy consumption limits for high-energy-consuming products. Fifth is to strengthen the construction of the legal system. We must earnestly implement the newly revised Energy Conservation Law and other laws related to environmental protection, promptly introduce relevant supporting regulations and standards, strengthen supervision in accordance with the law, and increase inspection efforts, so as to make better use of legal and regulatory measures in promoting energy conservation and emission reduction. Sixth, actively develop a circular economy. Organize the second batch of circular economy pilot projects, and implement special programs for the industrialization of high-tech circular economy technologies as well as special programs for the development of major industrial technologies. Fully implement clean production. Promote the resource utilization of waste and the remanufacturing of used mechanical and electrical products as well as auto parts. Seventh is to strengthen pollution prevention and control. Continue to carry out effective pollution control efforts in key areas such as the \"Three Rivers and Three Lakes,\" and issue and implement the overall environmental protection plan for the Bohai Sea as well as the comprehensive water environment management plan for the Taihu Lake basin. Ensure the safety of drinking water in urban and rural areas. Eighth is to intensify publicity efforts. Continue to carry out the \"Nationwide Campaign for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction\" to raise public awareness of energy conservation and environmental protection, and to foster the concept of ecological civilization throughout society. Not long ago, the Office of the State Council’s Leading Group on Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction announced that by 2010, the central government would provide substantial subsidies to promote the use of 150 million energy-efficient lighting fixtures. The General Office of the State Council also issued a notice recently, requiring that as of June 1 this year, the production, sale, and use of ultra-thin plastic shopping bags be banned nationwide.