From the Asia Times Online:
To curb wasteful energy consumption that has arisen because of the unfettered pursuit of high-speed growth in gross
domestic product (GDP), China has begun to introduce energy efficiency as a yardstick to evaluate the performance of local officials.However, if Beijing fails to find effective measures to stop the malpractice of falsifying economic statistics at the localities, the new yardstick could well be distorted to serve local interests. China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported last week that Zhejiang, an economically booming province on the coast, has decided to add an energy-efficiency measurement to the system for evaluating local officials’ performance. Eleven mayors and 58 county heads in the province have recently been appointed as top officials in charge of local energy-saving work. [Full Text]
