The Chinese government has set aside up to CNY 2.37 trillion (USD 373 billion) for investment into energy conservation and anti pollution projects over the next three and a half years, claimed a report by Reuters on Wednesday, with USD 155 billion of the money already earmarked for energy efficient projects that could reduce the nation's reliance on coal.
According to a report by China's State Council, the nation is likely to reduce the amount of energy it uses to produce every unit of gross domestic product by 16% from 2010 to 2015, while the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has also set an overall 21% energy intensity reduction target for industry over the same period.
If all the energy projects work out, the world's second-biggest economy could also be set for energy savings equal to nearly 670 million tonnes of standard coal equivalent energy, added the State Council, who cautioned numerous industries including steel and cement manufacturers to reduce their energy use per unit of production.
Previously, the Chinese government had also said that it intended to cut the amount of carbon it emits per unit of economic output by 40 to 45% by 2020 from 2005 levels. China is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, producing close to 9.7 billion tons of carbon emissions last year, or 29 percent of the world's total CO2 emissions.
Government officials said they expect China's greenhouse gas emissions to peak around 2030, as the economy continues to grow.
The latest measures though are seen to improve energy and emission efficiency, though the total amount of energy used and carbon emitted is still likely to increase.
Mr Wei Wei an analyst at West China Securities in Shanghai, told Bloomberg that the State Council's announcement could see a surge in shares of environmental protection companies.
He said that "The environmental protection industry is one of the few areas that have good growth potential in China as the government is increasing investment. Stocks in the sector will do well in a scenario where most industries are slowing down."