China sets regional ‘red lines’ to cut coal, water and energy use
Environmentalists say effectiveness of limits will rest on how clearly the regional targets are defined and how well they are enforced
China will set regional “red line” limits on energy and water consumption and land use for industrial development, according to a document published jointly by nine ministries this week.
The authorities will also set targets for cutting coal use in key industrial areas as part of moves to comply with the top leadership’s call to meet “ecological red lines”.
Local governments will be responsible for defining the caps and targets, which will need the approval of the State Council.
The document said the red lines should be revised only in exceptional cases, and all such changes would also need the State Council’s approval.
Regions including the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area and the Yangtze and Pearl river deltas, as well as other provinces hit hard by air pollution, such as Shandong, had to set specific targets, including the percentage of coal use in total energy consumption, the document said.
Dai Yande, deputy director at the National Development and Reform Commission’s Energy Research Institute, said the aim of the targets was “not to limit energy consumption”, but to improve the efficiency and quality of energy use.
