China is taking a sledgehammer approach to curb energy consumption and carbon emissions, by announcing that it will simply start closing companies that fall short of meeting their reduction targets.

“By the end of July, we will publish all failed corporations to the public,” China’s Minister for Industry, Li Yizhong, told China Central Television. “These corporations will be forced to shut down by the end of the third quarter.”

Climate change officials have indicated that shutdowns would focus on areas of west and south-west China, where energy use has grown. Inspections are being conducted through those areas to ensure implementation of new policies to raise national electricity prices.

Wu Changhua, head of greater China operations at the Climate Group, told the Sydney Morning Herald that “it’s very encouraging overall for the global climate change issues. She added that ”these more aggressive comments and very serious actions” reflected the leadership’s resolve to hit current energy targets and prepare the ground to exceed China’s pledge to reduce carbon emissions intensity by 40 to 45 percent by 2020.

China also committed to cut energy consumption per unit of gross domestic product by 20 percent in the current Five-Year Plan, which ends this year.