Flexibility Required to Meet China’s Mandatory Green Targets Set in the 12th Five-Year Plan

Abstract

During the past five years known as the period of the 11th Five-Year (2006–2010) Plan, China made great efforts on energy saving and emission reduction, and obtained great achievements, including a 19.06% drop of per unit GDP energy consumption. One of the major targets of China’s development during the period of the 12th Five-Year (2011–2015) Plan or the next five years, is to lead China’s economy on to the path of sustainable development, with emphasis on clean energy construction, emission reduction promotion, and a drastic reduction of energy intensity as well as carbon intensity. Therefore, a target for carbon reduction (a reduction goal for per unit GDP CO2 emissions) was added in the 12th Five-Year Plan in addition to the target for energy saving and conventional pollutants emission reduction. The target has been set, but opinions [Yang et al., 2011; Wu, 2011; Liu, 2011] still vary on whether it is optimal as well as how it should be comprehended and implemented.