The mainland's runaway economic development and local authorities' obsession with high growth rates are threatening to derail Beijing's ambitious drive to keep environmental degradation in check in the next five years, the environment chief warns.
Environment Minister Zhou Shengxian admitted that modest progress made through cutting energy waste and major pollutants had largely been offset by the push for rapid industrialisation and urbanisation in the past few years.
'It remains an arduous task to cut emissions of pollutants in the light of local authorities' investment impulse at the outset of the 12th five-year plan for 2011-2015,' the 21st Century Business Herald quoted Zhou as speaking at the opening of an annual national conference of environmental watchdogs on Thursday.
He voiced concerns over the environmental impact of local authorities' pursuit of rapid growth this year, with gross domestic product forecast to grow by as much as 14 per cent in some provinces despite Beijing's emphasis on economic restructuring and quality of development.
Zhou's unusually critical remarks follow Beijing's claim of success in delivering on key pollution control targets for the past five years, amid widespread scepticism that the overall environment has seen any improvement.
Despite the difficulties, he vowed big drops in carbon intensity - carbon dioxide emissions per unit of gross domestic product - and pollutants by 2015. China has pledged to cut carbon intensity by 40 per cent to 45 per cent by 2020 from 2005 levels amid global pressure on the world's biggest polluter of greenhouse gases to help fight climate change.