China plans to take more than 5m ageing vehicles off its roads this year to improve air quality, with 330,000 cars set to be decommissioned in Beijing alone, according to the Australian News Network.
In a wide-ranging action plan to cut emissions over the next two years, China’s cabinet, the State Council, said 5.33m “yellow label” vehicles that fail to meet Chinese fuel standards will be “eliminated” this year.
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As well as the 330,000 cars in Beijing, 660,000 will be withdrawn from the surrounding province of Hebei, home to seven of China’s smoggiest cities in 2013.
According to Beijing’s environmental watchdog, vehicle emissions in Beijing were responsible for about 31% of hazardous airborne particles. The capital city plans to limit the total number of cars on the road to 5.6m this year but allow it to rise to 6m by 2017.
ANN noted Beijing last year cut the number of new licence plates by 37% to 150,000 a year and is also paying for another 200,000 ageing vehicles to be upgraded.
The State Council document did not say how the plan would be implemented but Beijing’s municipal government has previously offered subsidies of between CNY2,500-CNY14,500 (US$400-$2,300) to drivers who voluntarily hand in their ageing vehicles to be scrapped.
However, the subsidy didn’t cover “yellow label” cars that fail to meet even minimum gasoline standards. Beijing currently forbids vehicles that do not meet required standards from entering the city but officials have admitted that China currently lacks the monitoring and policing capability to ensure all cars make the grade while drivers have also found ways to avoid detection.
