Want China Times, Xinhua 2014-06-12
Smog shrouds an expressway in Wuhan, Hubei province, May 21. (File photo/Xinhua) |
China plans
to remove 6 million high-emission vehicles off the road this year to reduce
pollution, the Ministry of Environmental Protection said on Tuesday.
More than
2.4 million vehicles will be taken off roads in the municipalities of Beijing,
Tianjin and Hebei province, along with another four municipalities and
provinces along the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta, according to the
ministry.
An action
plan, issued by the General Office of the State Council, China's cabinet, has
been distributed to local authorities, according to the ministry.
Meanwhile,
a ministry spokesperson on Tuesday urged local authorities to formulate
stimulus policies and enforce stronger laws to eradicate such vehicles.
Pollutants
discharged by cars are blamed as a leading cause for choking air pollution and
lingering smog in parts of the country. In Beijing, cars discharged more than
30% of the capital's PM 2.5, a particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5
micrograms that caused hazardous smog. In Shanghai, the percentage is about
25%.
China has
been the world's largest auto market and producer for five consecutive years,
with production and sales both exceeding 20 million units for the first time in
2013, while official figures showed car ownership increased to 137 million last
year.
"Huangbiaoche,"
or "yellow-label cars," referring to vehicles that fail to meet
national emission standards, account for about 10% of the country's total
number and emitted about half of all car pollutants, official figures showed.
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