China--which is close to surpassing the U.S. as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions--is striving to slash energy use 20 percent by 2010, said Zhou Dadi during an April 19 U.S.-China green energy conference in San Francisco. Dadi is China’s representative on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and director of the Beijing Energy Efficiency Center. To reach the 20 percent target requires annual efficiency gains of 4.4 percent, Dadi said. The country embarked on the goal in 2005, he said. California’s investor-owned utilities are spending $1 billion a year to achieve energy savings, noted California Public Utilities Commissioner Dian Grueneich. Without providing specifics, the regulator said the investment provides $2 billion in annual savings, half of which was plowed back into efficiency programs. Terrie Prosper, CPUC spokesperson, only provided projected savings and not proven numbers. “An estimated $2.7 billion” in savings is expected from the $2.1 billion being spent on the investor-owned utilities energy efficiency over three years, she said. China is expected to construct more than 2 billion square meters of new buildings every year to 2030. Smart land use planning, high speed rail instead of highways to head off growth in use of oil for transportation, and stringent green building standards are essential to curbing the country’s future greenhouse gases, according to Dadi. Editor’s note: For a more detailed version of this story, please see our sister publication E=MC2- Energy Meets Climate Challenge. You can find it at energymeetsclimate.com