China drafting forestry bio-energy plan

A ten-year plan (2011-2020) to boost bio-energy development in the forestry industry is being drafted by Chinese government authorities, which would put forward a goal that some 20 million hectares of forestry farms be planted to provide feedstock for bio-energy over this ten-year period, the State Forestry Administration (SFA) has said.Wu Jian, the chief engineer of SFA, said at a press conference that the projected forestry farms could reduce carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to burning some 20.25 million metric tonnes of standard coal every year, and contribute to some 3 percent of the country’s total renewable energy consumption.

According to Wu, the government would develop policies to encourage private sector investors to invest in developing these resources and to support the growth of forestry bio-energy companies to form raw material bases for the country’s bio-energy industry. Relevant scientific research, technological innovations and demonstration projects as well as international cooperation would also get firm support from the government, he said.