Green GDP initiative suspended

There will be no official estimate of China's "green GDP" this year, the Wall Street Journal reported. Green GDP is the proportion of gross domestic product taken up by pollution and other environmental costs. The government, prompted by the State Environmental Protection Agency, released the figure for the first time last year, estimating the country's 2004 green GDP to be 3.05%, or US$64 billion, of the year's total GDP. This year, however, the National Bureau of Statistics said that because no international standards for calculating the figures exist it would suspend the initiative. However, the suspension is also seen as a capitulation to provincial governments, who do not want the figures to reflect badly on them.