China on Wednesday provided more details on how it plans to reform some of its tightly regulated resource prices this year and gave hard targets for reducing pollution in 2014. “The problems of consumption of resources and environmental pollution are prominent,” the National Development and Reform Commission, the country’s top economic planning agency, said in an annual report. “In particular, smog frequently engulfs large areas of China and seriously affects people’s lives and health.” The report was presented to the National People’s Congress, which opened on Wednesday. The NDRC said it would introduce tiered-pricing models for resources that would charge some users higher prices based on the amount they consume. The tiered model will be used for natural gas and water consumed by residential users and for electricity consumed by industrial users in sectors such as cement and electrolytic aluminum, the commission said. The NDRC added it would adjust” […]