China Eyes Tighter Fuel Standards by 2007
Date: 15-Jul-05
Country: CHINA
However the country will also have to battle a growing appetite for flashy cars among the country's newly wealthy and explore alternative technologies if it wants to clean its smoggy skies, said Li Xinmin, deputy director of the State Environmental Protection Administration's department of pollution control.
Although there was no clear timetable yet for introduction of higher fuel standards it was likely to be quite rapid, Li told journalists at a joint US-China fuel standards workshop, but he did not say what the new limits would be.
"The fuel standards will be in line with the new emissions standards and as the new emissions standards will be in place from July 1 2007, I believe the new low-sulphur fuel standards will be in place by that time," he told a news briefing.
Beijing brought in tight Euro IV standards of just 50 parts per million of sulphur at the start of July as part of its bid to clean up the city's air for the 2008 Olympics, but the rest of China is lagging behind on Euro II -- or 500 ppm.
Li's department, keen to take advantage of US experience on fuel standards, is co-operating with its Environmental Protection Agency on a low-sulphur fuels policy which it intends to submit to China's cabinet as a proposed law in the near future. However tackling emissions that are a key contributor to the yellow-grey haze hanging over many of China's cities will require changes to attitudes as well as rules.
"When people buy cars here it is for other people to see, not for themselves...they want to buy big cars," Li said.
Nor do China's clogged roads help. At rush hour the average speed of vehicles is only 11 km (7 miles) an hour, leading to higher emissions and fuel use than if they could travel faster. Alternative fuels are beginning to make an appearance although with just some 200,000 gas-powered cars on its roads they are little more than a curiosity at present in a country where 5.2 million vehicles were sold last year alone.
However they cut out around 1.2 million tonnes (10.22 million barrels) of gasoline consumption, Li said.
China is also looking at other alternative technologies including cars powered by ethanol and fuel cells.
