China will increase spending for environmental protection 19 percent in 2009 compared with the previous year, Minister of Finance Xie Xuren said March 6 at the annual meeting of the National People's Congress. According to the Ministry of Finance, China's total central government budget for 2009 is expected to be 4.3 trillion yuan ($628.6 billion). A total of 123.5 billion yuan ($18 billion), or 2.9 percent of the budget, will be devoted to environmental spending, according to Xie. The budget includes 52 billion yuan ($7.6 billion) to protect forests, restore grazing land to grassland, and return farmland to forest; 49.5 billion yuan ($7.2 billion) for a special fund for retrofitting industry with energy-conserving technology and retiring outmoded production facilities; and about 22 billion yuan ($3.2 billion) to increase the use of efficient, energy-saving products; support vehicles using alternative fuels; control water pollution; complete urban wastewater and sewage treatment facilities; and reduce emissions in central and western China. The amount spent on energy conservation and emissions reductions across all budget categories will total 68 billion yuan ($9.9 billion), the ministry said.
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