Hu has pledged to reduce carbon intensity, or the amount of carbon emitted per unit of economic output.

CNN: Obama's China trip is high-stakes mission for environment

In 2006, the first year of the plan, the country's reduction in energy intensity, which measures energy consumption per unit of economic output, was a mere 1.23%.

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America guzzles more petrol per person than any other big country, and uses more energy to produce each unit of economic output than most of its rivals.

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