China's new five-year plan for 2011-2015 will include key measures to reverse damage caused by 30 years of environmental degradation, including putting carbon emission reduction at the top of its agenda. "The depletion, deterioration and exhaustion of resources and the deterioration of the environment have become serious bottlenecks constraining economic and social development," wrote environment minister Zhou Shengxian in an essay last week. The government is also expected to enact tougher water quality standards aimed at reducing heavy metal discharges in key regions, and the Xinhua News Agency reported that the country will cap total energy consumption at the equivalent of four billion tons of coal by 2015. However, the plan has already been hindered by an earlier reduction in environmental targets; last month, Premier Wen Jiabao slightly reduced carbon intensity targets, a move the director of global climate solutions at the environmental group WWF called "business as usual." In addition, China's efforts to fix its blighted rivers may be hindered if an increased demand for renewable energy leads to the need for more dams. In northern China, the area that serves as some of the nation's main growing lands has been ravaged by droughts. Snowfalls have barely helped to replenish near-empty dams, and industry's inefficient use of water combined with a water-intensive boom is beginning to take its toll. For the story on China's five-year plan, see http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/03/03/us-china-environment-idUSTRE72214Y20110303. For the story on China's expected coal cap, see http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-04/china-to-cap-energy-use-at-4-billion-tons-of-coal-by-2015-xinhua-reports.html. For the story on the drought, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-12606326.