Energy intensity falls, call to do more

China's energy consumption per unit of GDP decreased by 2.88 percent year-on-year during the first half of this year, the government announced yesterday without giving immediate comment on the performance.

But the central government's recent repeated circulars and urgency placed on energy saving prior to the announcement have signaled that it is not satisfied with the progress, saying "tremendous efforts are needed" to meet the country's 2006-10 conservation target.

The figure was 0.1 percentage point more than the same period last year, according to a bulletin jointly released by the National Bureau of Statistics, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and National Energy Administration.