Scouring for Information

In a press conference during the annual session of the National People's Congress, Zhang Lijun, Vice-Minister of Environmental Protection, announced that Beijing will be introducing the national Emission Standard V for motor vehicles starting January 1, 2021.

This move comes as part of Beijing's ongoing efforts to combat air pollution. The city has a history of raising its vehicle emission standards, having done so four times since 1999, with Standard IV being implemented in 2008.

The new standard is intended to reduce automobile exhaust, the biggest source of air pollution in Beijing. Research indicates that more than three quarters of total air pollution in large cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou comes from vehicle carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions.

The increase in motor vehicles has led to widespread congestion and hindered the city's environmental protection efforts. In 2010, the number of days with air quality classified as excellent and good accounted for 78.4 percent of the whole year, an increase of 14.3 percent from 2005, according to Zhang Lijun.

In addition to imposing the emission standard V, the municipal government will also strengthen dust suppression to improve the environment. Zhang Lijun stated that China currently uses an air-quality index that better fits developing countries but is less strict than the indexes used by developed countries.

The original schedule for applying the new emission standard was not mentioned by Zhang Lijun. However, it was previously stated by Du Shaozhong, vice-director of Beijing's environmental protection bureau, that Beijing would impose the standard V as soon as possible.

Beijing will be joining developed countries in imposing the stricter emission standard, which is expected to significantly reduce the amount of pollutants from a single vehicle. With each raise in emission standards, the amount of pollutants dropped by 30 to 50 percent.

The city of Beijing adopted a lottery system in 2011, limiting new issued car license plates to 240,000, about one third of the number registered in 2010. This move was aimed at controlling the growth of motor vehicles on the city's roads, which more than quadrupled from 1 million in 1997 to 4.76 million at the end of 2010.

Zhang Lijun also said the government is drawing up a program to make sure Beijing and its surrounding regions work in concerted efforts to combat air pollution. The program is planned to be implemented stringently in the next five years.

The stricter emission standard is a significant step towards improving air quality in Beijing and other large cities in China. With the government's continued efforts and the cooperation of the public, the goal of a cleaner and healthier environment can be achieved.