China issues first ‘green GDP’ report

China released its first ever green GDP report on Thursday, which subtracts the cost of natural resources and environmental degradation from total GDP.
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The report, jointly released by the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) and the National Bureau of Statistics, indicates that environmental pollution cost China 511.8 billion yuan (US$64 billion) in economic losses in 2004, amounting to 3.05% of total economic output that year, said state media.
"This marks only the beginning of our efforts in a Green GDP calculation," said SEPA deputy director Pan Yue, adding that “our formula is still not complete and we have to keep working hard to improve it."