Beijing: The Air That I Breathe

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 7/01/2007 01:06:00 AM
As China busies itself with its preparations for the 2008 Olympic Games, the bugaboo of poor air quality is again rearing its head despite attempts to improve air quality in the host city.

Beijing has recorded the worst air quality for June in the past seven years, as it was substandard for 15 days in the month, authorities said on Saturday.

Particles in the air was the main pollutant, said officials with the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Environment Protection. The city's weather "was bad for the spread of pollutants".

The pollution in June was mainly caused by car exhaust, while farmers burning stalks in neighboring Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces were also to blame, the Beijing officials said…

Beijing has aimed to have 245 days with "blue sky" this year, but it recorded only 110 days in the first six months.

Consequently, the government has mandated that automakers improve vehicle emission standards:
A more stringent vehicle emission standard equivalent to the Euro III will begin on Sunday, said China's environmental regulator. And the sale and licensing of Euro II vehicles will expire a year later.

The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) said that as the world's second-largest vehicle market and third-largest vehicle producer, China's rapidly growing car sales aren't just creating traffic jams in major cities; they're also causing noticeable deterioration of air quality in some large cities including the country's capital, Beijing.

The new standards would cut vehicle pollutants by 30 percent, said Zhao Yingmin, head of SEPA's department of science, technology and standards. He also said an emission standard equivalent to the Euro IV would take effect in 2010.

The new standard, equivalent to the Euro III, was issued in China by SEPA in April 2005. More than 7,000 types of vehicles have been able to meet the new standard, according to ministry figures. And most automakers in China have the technology to produce Euro III vehicles.

The national adoption of the Euro III standard will help the country reduce its pollutants, like sulfur dioxide (SO2). China planned to cut its SO2 emissions 2 percent year-on-year from 2006 to 2010, but failed to meet the target last year. SEPA reminded carmakers of the timetable to eliminate high-emission vehicles.

While this initiative to improve emission standards to Euro III is welcome, do note that the EU began implementing these standards seven years ago. (See chart depicting allowable particulate matter and sulfur oxide emissions.) Meanwhile, Euro IV standards which China plans to put into effect in 2010 were adopted in 2005 by the EU. Beijing intends to ban parking at Olympic venues during the Games to reduce reduce traffic and air pollution. Whether Beijing's air can improve sufficiently by then is an open question, however.