BRUSSELS, April 11 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese project in which straw is converted into gas, along with 12 other sustainable programs from all over the world, made it to the final competition for this year's Energy Globe Awards late Wednesday.

    Hans-Gert Poettering, President of the European Parliament, said at the award ceremony that the world should work together to protect the environment, adding that Europe should not be the sole actor in fighting global warming.

    The annual Energy Globe Awards, which has become the world's most important environmental prize giving event, was established seven years ago by Austrian engineer and environmentalist WolfgangNeumann. The awards are conferred on projects across the world which make careful and economical use of resources and employ alternative energy sources.

    The projects are presented in the five categories of earth, fire, water, air and youth. Five projects from different countries in each category were selected as winners.

    China's Energy From Straws Program was nominated for the Energy Globe Award in the category of air, which is bestowed on programs, projects and initiatives aimed at reducing harmful emissions, keeping the air clean and improving its quality.

    In the end, the air award went to small biogas plants in Vietnam which help cut greenhouse gas emissions.

    Meanwhile, a four-year plan for establishing over 16,000 solar homes in India was awarded the Energy Globe Award in the category of fire.

    The water award went to a U.S. program of using a special waterfilter, made of recycled plastics for gaining drinking water from waste water.

    The earth award went to a Kenyan project for implementing solar energy ovens for drying vegetables and fruits and the youth award to a solar powered house in South Africa.

    The host country Belgium won a separate national award for sensitively changing a historical private house into an energy saving building.

    Though unable to attain the trophy, the Chinese project showed the world that China is playing its role in the field of energy saving and environmental protection, said Yu Chengjian, vice-president of the Science Academy of China's Shandong province, which developed the program.

    The Chinese program was created to encourage farmers to trade-in their straw harvest and receive clean energy in return.

    Between 1986 and 1995, a cooking gas supply system for villages was developed, which can efficiently convert straw into gas used for cooking by farmers.

    Over 300 systems have been constructed in China, reducing indoor and outdoor air pollution and improving cooking conditions.

    In addition, a 200-Kilowatt straw power plant was put into operation in 2005. Another project, which aims to convert straw into liquid fuel, such as biological diesel, over the next decade is currently being planned.

    The nominees for Energy Global Awards come from around the world. People in each country can apply for the prize for their sustainable projects, however small they may be. This year, 13 projects were selected as nominees out of 732 submissions.