The China Green Building Council (CGBC) was officially launched yesterday to promote the development of energy-saving buildings and standardize the nation's green building industry.

Under the work of the council, the Building Energy-Efficient Marking System will soon be established to develop criteria for distinguishing different levels of energy-saving buildings, Qiu Baoxing, vice-minister of housing and urban-rural construction said.

Speaking at the Fourth International Conference on Intelligent, Green and Energy-efficient Building and New Technologies and Products Expo, Qiu said the council will lead research on concepts, theories and practical methods of green construction.

The council will also integrate scientific research and innovations related to green building and will be entitled to approval rights for certain projects. Education and academic exchange will also be one of its major duties, Qiu said.

The establishment of the CGBC has been under the spotlight since Qiu met with the board and executives of the World Green Building Council in November 2004.

In April 2006, experts, scholars and government officials from China, the United States and Australia gathered in Beijing to again discuss the council's establishment.

Having obtained approval from the State Council, the CGBC's launch is in line with China's Energy-Saving and Emission Reduction policy, especially in the construction industry.

If the standards are fully implemented, energy consumption will be reduced by an average of 40 percent. This will also ease energy shortages and contribute to combating climate change.

On average, about 2 billion sq m of new buildings are built every year in China. But only 53 percent of projects fulfill their energy-saving pledges.