As young students, we read textbooks that spoke of China's vastness and abundance of natural resources.

But as large as its territory is, the nation is encountering an ever-worsening shortage of land, fresh water, energy and other reserves of natural resources as the economy gallops forward at pace.

Power brownouts have become common in some places thanks to the soaring consumption of electricity in recent years. Thus frequent campaigns promoting the efficient use of energy and resources are launched.

Like dramas, energy-saving campaigns often have a climax. This denouement usually comes during the summer, when the heat ratchets up consumption of limited resources, especially energy.

Premier Wen Jiabao recently required State departments to control air conditioner use, keeping office temperatures at or above 26 C to save energy. The State Council issued a circular requiring public servants to switch off lights and air conditioners when leaving the office, use lifts less frequently, and install energy-saving bulbs where possible.

Government officials are also encouraged to wear plain clothes instead of Western-style suits and ties when attending less important official activities to reduce reliance on air conditioning.

A number of local governments have reportedly begun to implement the energy-saving policies.

A high-profile call from the premier, a central circular and local officials busy with issuing energy-saving orders to their subordinates it seems China is waging an all-out war against energy waste.

All efforts merit applause no matter how trivial they may seem to be. But the worry is that when the summer heat cools off, will everyone return to their energy-gobbling ways?

A survey in Beijing last year shows per capita use of water and electricity by municipal government officials is on average three and seven times respectively that of ordinary residents.

This official extravagance cannot be explained away by seasonal changes.

The crux of the current campaign is to maintain momentum all through the year to promote energy and resource-saving awareness among members of the public and government officials.

To this end, repeated calls from the top are far from enough. We need consistent and systematic policies and laws to encourage efficient use of energy and resources, and must punish those who waste, as suggested in the State Council circular.

Economically, low-efficiency heavy industries have swallowed huge amounts of energy and resources, disproportionately to their output.

Official statistics show the amount of energy the country uses to create every unit of gross domestic product is three times that in the United States, and 6.6 times that in Japan.

Industrial restructuring thus becomes a task not only crucial for improving the country's economic power, but also its energy use efficiency.

In terms of law, it is a more complicated issue. Enforcement of laws, not lack of laws themselves, is often the hard nut to crack given China's immature legal system. Experts and policy-makers have long known about the problem, but remain unable to find an effective cure.

Saving energy and resources is a long-term task that calls for more than expedient measures.

(China Daily July 8, 2005)