China's Carbon Intensity at 4-Year Low

China's carbon intensity - the amount of CO2 it produces per unit of growth - fell by 5 percent in the first half of 2014, helped by the decreasing share of heavy industry in the country's economy, state media said on Thursday.

The decline is the biggest in four years and puts China on track to meet its target of bringing its 2010 carbon intensity rate down by 17 percent over the 2011-2015 period.

Energy intensity also dropped 4.2 percent in the first six months of 2014, with the official Xinhua news agency attributing the decline to the increasing role played by the services sector in China's economic growth.

The country aims to cut 2010 energy intensity levels by 16 percent by the end of 2015.

Strong economic growth over 2011-12 threatened to derail China's efforts to meet its 2011-2015 energy and carbon targets, but the government has said it is now back on track.

In the first half of the year, large-scale industries consumed 1.37 billion tonnes of standard coal, up 2.13 percent.

The growth rate was down 0.87 percentage points year on year, thanks to declining growth from sectors such as oil precessing, chemicals, building materials, iron and steel and power, figures published on China's official government website (www.gov.cn) showed.

Reporting By Kathy Chen and David Stanway