CHINA must speed up resource tax reforms to fight heavy pollution and also make a priority of energy-saving to stave off risky dependence on foreign supplies, the nation s Vice Premier Li Keqiang said in remarks published Friday.
Li s wide-ranging speech on environmental policy was made in December, but domestic media did not report the comments until Friday.
The speech to scientists and government officials stressed how critical energy concerns are to China s foreign policy and its economic goals, which will be fleshed out in a five-year plan to be approved by the national parliament next month.
But China would not be able to wean itself off dependence on coal, even as it faced growing international pressure over its emissions of greenhouse gases from fossil fuels, Li told the meeting of experts, according to a transcript of the speech in China Environment News, the official newspaper of the Environmental Protection Ministry.
Therefore, energy-saving must always be a priority.
His comments suggest the government could move ahead with an environmental tax plan that has been submitted to the State Council, China s Cabinet.
That tax is likely to be levied on carbon dioxide from fossil fuels and on discharges of polluted water.
(SD-Agencies)
