China's top legislature began on Sunday deliberating a draft amendment to the Law on Conserving Energy, in an effort to improve energy efficiency and cut pollution emission.

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Under the 1996-2010 five-year plan, China pledged to cut its energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 20 percent, or 4 percent each year. But the consumption actually fell by just 1.23 percent last year.

"We are confronted with many problems and difficulties in attaining the objective in consequence of the fact that energy consumption in some regions and industries keeps rising," Fu Zhihuan, Chairman of the Financial and Economic Committee with the National People's Congress, told lawmakers on Sunday's session.

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