State Councilor Xiao Jie, secretary-general of the State Council, addressed a meeting on saving energy and resources and ecological environment protection work of public institutions on Sept 24.

Xiao stressed that public institutions at all levels should meticulously implement major decisions made by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council on carbon emissions peak and carbon neutrality and popularize energy saving and environment protection as ways of production and living with strong and effective actions.

Public institutions at all levels have fulfilled the tasks of saving energy and resources and ecological environment protection work, with enhancement in energy efficiency, improvements in system standards, obvious manifestation in role of guiding and demonstration, and increase in energy saving management during the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), Xiao said.

Unbalanced development in low-carbon transition and inadequacy use of market mechanism in different public institutions still exist, and more efforts will be made to promote energy saving and carbon reduction, Xiao said.

He urged public institutions to continue to play a major role in energy saving and carbon reduction in major fields, sectors and units during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), and initiate low-carbon production and living methods, popularize new energies, technologies, and products, strengthen mechanisms including management by objectives, technology empowerment, and oversight and assessment.

Xiao stressed to fulfill responsibilities, improve systems, beef up team building, and eventually usher in a new era of low-carbon development in public institutions.