In our opinion, the discussion on the long-term goal will still go on for some time, said Xie, suggesting that is better to formulate the medium-term goal and determine what the international community should do by the year 2020 than to engage in a lengthy debate over the long-term goal, so that we can adopt measures to protect the environment of our earth as soon as possible.

In the past 15 years, China has registered a 47 percent decrease in its per capita GDP's energy consumption, said Xie.

And China is anticipating another 20 percent decrease in 2005-2010, he added.

The G8 environment ministers meeting opened Saturday in the run-up to the G8 summit scheduled for July 7-9 at the Lake Toya resort in Japan's northern main island of Hokkaido.

Three major issues of biodiversity, climate change and 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycle) are on the agenda of the three-day conference.

Environment chiefs and relevant officials from the European Commission, 10 emerging economies, including China, India and Brazil, and eight international organizations have also been invited to be present at the gathering.

The Group of Eight is composed of the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia, the eight leading industrial nations, whose heads of government hold regular meetings known as the G8 summit.

(Xinhua News Agency May 26, 2008)