China delays energy target report to check data
Source: Reuters
BEIJING, Jan 19 (Reuters) - China will delay reporting how far short it fell on official energy efficiency targets until it has tightened up the system used to calculate consumption, the official Xinhua agency said. Beijing has pledged to cut the amount of energy it uses to generate each dollar of national income 20 percent by 2010, but admitted earlier in January that it had missed this year's 4 percent goal by a wide margin, without giving a figure. It will reveal the number when energy consumption figures handed in by provincial governments have been checked by the National Bureau of Statistics to ensure they have used the standard evaluation system it is promoting as part of a wider push to boost data quality. Beefing up the system to calculate energy use would be a priority this year, Xinhua quoted NBS head Xie Fuzhan saying. China is keen to improve energy efficiency because of worries about its growing dependence on imported oil and soaring use of dirty-burning coal. But years of emphasizing economic growth at almost any cost have slowed efforts to shift to a cleaner model of expansion. Only the capital, Beijing, and five provinces met their targets last year, the official China Daily has reported. But with official career prospects now dependent in part on success in curbing energy use, there may be some temptation to massage figures.
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