Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), a technological transformation programme is helping 100 rural enterprises save China 451,000 tons of coal and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.13 million tons annually, vice-minister for agriculture, Mr Wei Chaoan said. Only eight firms signed up for the project in March 2001 when it was launched with a fund of $8 million from GEF. The project aims to help Chinese rural enterprises in the brick-making, cement, foundry and coking sectors reduce GHG emissions by improving their production methods. Statistics show rural enterprises in the four sectors account for 16.7 per cent of Chinas carbon dioxide emissions and use up 56 per cent of the energy consumed by all Chinese rural firms.