SHENZHEN would start supplying the new national IV emission standard petrol at gas stations from early next year to reduce vehicle emissions and improve air quality.
Lin Hanzhang, vice director general of the city s environment commission, made the announcement on a call-in radio program Tuesday, a Daily Sunshine report said.
The city had planned to start supplying the fuel from Oct. 1 but it was delayed due to supplier problems, Chen Min, director of the commission s motor vehicle exhaust gas management department, said earlier.
Launching the new national IV emission standard petrol involved petrol supplies and pricing, Lin said. After negotiations, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., China National Petroleum Corp. and China National Offshore Oil Corp. have agreed to supply Shenzhen with the new standard petrol. The pricing authority has also prepared a pricing structure. Once the price is determined, supplies will be provided early next year.
There were now 1.7 million vehicles in the city and exhaust emissions had become a major cause of pollution, Lin said.
The commission had stopped issuing licenses to yellow-label high-emission cars, which produce emissions equal to 25 low-emission vehicles, Lin said. Yellow labels were issued to indicate high-emission vehicles.
From Jan. 1, yellow-label cars will no longer be allowed on major roads in Bao an and Longgang districts, Lin said. The authority had already increased the frequency of inspections of these vehicles and restricted them to certain areas. The measures aimed to [ultimately] eliminate high-emission vehicles, he said.
Shenzhen reported good air quality in the third quarter this year, which could be attributed to a series of measures taken since May, including oil-gas transformation of nine generator units and the shutdown of more than 800 small coal-fired furnaces, according to the commission.
(Jane Lai)
