BEIJING – The Chinese government admitted yesterday that it had failed to meet almost half of the environmental targets it set itself six years ago.

Wen Jiabao, the prime minister, owned up after a fortnight in which Beijing has experienced some of its worst pollution for years. He told a national conference on environmental protection that “lack of awareness, insufficient planning, illogical industrial structure, and a weak legal framework” were all reasons why the country was falling behind on eight of 20 measures set out in 2000.

These included the release of carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere, the discharge of industrial solid waste, and improving the treatment of waste water.

At the same time, the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) issued a report saying that China had doubled its consumption of the world’s resources, on a per person basis, since 1961. It also cited a survey of big business which claimed that many companies broke environmental laws.

The government has set great store by its plan to “re-order” China’s development away from increasing economic growth toward sustainable development.