Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD), an index measuring water pollution, was up 173,000 tonnes, or 1.2 percent from the previous year.

Air and water pollutants were to be reduced by two percent in 2006 as part of the government's five-year plan to curb pollution emissions by 10 percent between 2006-2010.

Fan Yansheng, director of the pollution control department at SEPA, told Xinhua that the failure to meet the target was caused by economic growth.

Despite the 2006 failure, SEPA said it aimed to reduce sulphur dioxide emissions and COD by 3.2 million tonnes and 1.23 million tons respectively in 2007.

"We are optimistic we can accomplish the mission by taking a series of concrete measures," said Zhou Shengxian, director of SEPA, referring to the introduction of pollution control measures at heavy industry sites and shutting down polluting small cement, steel and power plants.

Last month, SEPA's vice minister Pan Yue said 2006 saw serious environmental degradation in China.

"The year 2006 was the most serious year for China's environmental situation," he said in a statement on the watchdog's website.

"Environmental problems have already become the major bottleneck constraining China's economic and social development."

He said China had also failed to realise its 2006 goal of reducing energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by four percent, although he did not say by how far China missed the goal.

However, the National Development and Reform Commission, China's planning agency, said energy consumption per unit of GDP increased by 0.8 percent during the first half of the year.

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