Environmental cost of economic growth proving hard to measure

Calculating the economic cost of environmental degradation is proving a tough challenge for two government bodies.

But the head of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Xie Fuzhan, yesterday said his organization will continue to attempt to do so, despite some experts describing it as a "mission impossible".

"We are still doing research on how to calculate our green GDP (gross domestic product)," Xie told reporters at a press conference organized by the State Council Information Office.