Chinese vice premier Zeng Peiyan on Saturday called on ordinary people to help save energy and reduce pollution.

"Energy conservation and pollution reduction are related to the sustainable development of the whole society and economy, as well as the interests of the broad masses," Zeng told the opening ceremony of a nationwide campaign in Beijing.

Every citizen and every family need to take spontaneous actions to address the issue, he added.

Zeng said the current situation is still grim and the nation needs to intensify policy guidance and implementation in order to establish a workable mechanism for cutting energy consumption and pollutant emissions.

The vice premier stressed the importance of scientific technologies in tackling the problems and encouraged enterprises to become a major force in the campaign.

He also required governments at all levels to adopt a frugal work style and asked the press to publicize new methods of saving energy and reducing pollution.

The campaign was co-organized by 17 governmental departments including the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the State Environmental Protection Administration and the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.

Organizers distributed booklets of energy saving tips to publicize the government's notions at the opening ceremony.

China's state assets watchdog has called on major state-owned firms to meet energy saving and pollution reduction targets a year ahead of schedule.

The nation had set the target of reducing its energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 20 percent and of cutting total pollution by 10 percent between 2006 and 2010.

China's energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product dropped 2.78 percent in the first half of 2007 from a year earlier. Meanwhile, its sulfur dioxide emissions fell 0.88 percent, but the chemical oxygen demand, which measures water quality, rose 0.24 percent.