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China to raise energy efficiency by 20%
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-12 15:38
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia -- China, the world's second largest oil
consumer, aims to raise its economy's energy efficiency by 20 percent before the
end of the decade, Premier Wen Jiabao said Monday.
Conservation will be
given "top priority" in China's future energy strategy, Wen said in a speech in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where he is attending a regional summit.
"Our goal is to cut the use of energy per unit of GDP by about 20 percent by
2010 and achieve energy conservation and efficiency for the whole country," Wen
said. "This is an important strategy that China pursues to achieve sustainable
development."
China still relies largely on oil and inexpensive but dirty coal for energy,
but is turning increasingly to nuclear power and renewable sources such as wind
power to meet the demands of its galloping economy.
In recent years, China has gone from being an exporter to a net importer of
both oil and coal, although it says it still meets 90 percent of its energy
needs from domestic sources.
China's cities, factories and transportation networks are known for
wasting energy, requiring much more oil to be used for every unit of economic
output than in Japan, the United States and Europe.
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