Rising to the challenge of conserving energy

Beijing - China faces the grave challenge of cutting energy consumption in its building sector as the country seeks to achieve its green energy goals, a senior official said on Monday.

"As much as 30 percent of China's total energy consumption is now operational energy consumption in buildings," said Li Bingren, chief economist of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, at a press conference organized by the State Council Information Office.

Meanwhile, the energy efficiency of buildings in China remains low, with a general energy-saving standard of 50 percent, he acknowledged.