Beijing announces the 12th plan for the Energy Saving and Environmental Protection Industry.
China's State Council has issued “The 12th Five-Year Development Plan for the Energy and Environmental Protection Industry”, which outlines the current status of the industry in China and attempts to tackle some of the problems endemic in the sector.
The latest plan estimates the output value of the industry, which employs around 28 million people, at 2 trillion yuan ($313 billion) since 2010 and anticipates the growth rate for the industry will be kept at 15% or above until 2015, by which time the total value will have reached 4.5 trillion yuan ($705 billion).
The government will turn its focus towards three key elements within its energy-saving and environmental protection industry: energy-saving technologies and equipment, products and services.
One of the major problems faced by the industry is that it lacks the cutting-edge technology of its global counterparts. Most of the companies operating within the industry are small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) dependent on financial support from the government. The high cost of importing advanced technology is also a problem for the industry.
The plan will introduce several key policy measures to counter some of these issues, such as increasing financial support, improving import and export policies, revising the legal and administrative systems and improving land usage tariffs.