China to cut energy consumption

China aims to curb its energy consumption for each unit of industrial output by 21 percent during the period of the 12th Five-Year Plan (2011-15), the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said on Monday.

The new target is an effective way to guarantee the realization of the goal of cutting energy use for each unit of growth domestic product (a ratio known as energy intensity) by 16 percent during the same period, said researchers.

"The new target is relatively aggressive," said Lin Boqiang, director of the China Center for Energy Economics Research at Xiamen University.

Energy consumption in the industrial sector accounts for about 70 percent of the nation's total use, so the target "bodes well" for China's goals, Lin said.

China aims to save the equivalent of 670 million tons of standard coal during the five-year period under a plan for industrial energy conservation posted on the ministry website on Monday.

The plan also calls for the closure of inefficient companies in more than 10 industries, including electrolytic aluminum, because of overcapacity, high energy consumption and pollution.