China Seeks $536 Billion of Investments to Protect Environment

China needs about 3.4 trillion yuan ($536 billion) of investments for environmental protection in the five years through 2015, the State Council said in a blueprint on pollution reduction.

The government plans to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions by 8 percent, raise the ratio of non-fossil fuels as part of total energy use, lower the ratio for coal, and add 42 million tons of daily sewage treatment capacity from 2011 through 2015, it said in a statement on its website yesterday. Companies and local authorities will be mainly responsible for the investments, while the central government will give support as needed “depending on different circumstances,” it said.