News from China Rural Energy Development International Symposium is that with the support of the United Nations Development Program, the Office of the State Council Energy Leading Group is drafting a new rural energy strategy to establish a vision for China's future rural energy development and offer more opportunities for the poor to access to sustainable energy.

Jointly held by UNDP and OSCELG, the meeting featured rural energy specialists from developing countries, including Bolivia, Brazil, India, South Africa, and Thailand, who have come to share their ideas and visions on rural energy safety.

Subinay Nandy, UNDP Country Director in China, says that the energy challenge that China's rural area is facing is not only an energy issue, but also an issue of development. Nandy says that the increasing demand for rural energy and the challenge in meeting climate change have brought the issue of sustainable energy development to the top of China's national policy making agenda.

UNDP also released its latest report "Overcoming Vulnerability to Rising Oil Prices" at the meeting, in which it pointed out that renewable energy can bring great benefit to remote rural areas where people rely on diesel oil or gasoline for power.

According to China's energy goals, by 2020, about 300 million rural people in China will use biogas as their main fuel, while 10 million tons of bio-ethanol and two million tons of bio-diesel will be used to replace 10 million tons of annual oil consumption.

China's new rural energy development strategy is expected to be released in early 2008.

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