China is speeding up legislation of energy law, said Ma Fucai, vice director of the State Energy Office on Jan. 12.

Ma added that the proposed law would govern the energy resource prospecting, research and development, production and transportation, trading and consumption, utilization and saving, foreign cooperation, security and supervision.

A fundamental energy law defining the energy strategy and policy has long been absent in China's energy sector, making it difficult to address problems in energy structure, efficiency, security and interaction between energy and environment.

On the other hand, China has become the world's second largest energy consumer facing severe energy supply shortfall. The proposal for the 11th Five-Year Plan suggests that China quadruple its GDP by 2020, which means even more energy consumption. Given this, the energy law is urgently needed.

By People's Daily Online