Environmental protection should rely more on innovation of scientific technologies to cut costs and improve efficiency, urged Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan on Friday.

Zeng said the advancement of technology is vital to reducing emission of major pollutants by 10 percent in five years and successful scientific research should be put into practice more quickly.

He asked for major breakthroughs in scientific innovation and the building of an environmental management system based on scientific criteria and high-end technologies by 2010.

A more cost-effective and powerful science and technology support system with clear division of functions will be built by 2020 to promote the country's environmental protection, he said.

A think tank composed of 86 experts and scholars was established at the conference to offer advice on the country's long-term environmental protection strategy.

Earlier statistics show that China plans to invest 1.4 trillion yuan (US$175 billion), more than 1.5 percent of the national GDP, in environmental protection between 2006 and 2010.

Slow technological advances, however, have partly offset rising investment. For example, more than 90 percent of Chinese waterworks are still using outdated technologies developed at the beginning of the 20th century, which can handle only physical and microbial pollution but not chemical pollution.

(Xinhua News Agency August 19, 2006)